


Eden

by SkeletalKitsune



Category: Devilman (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Extremely Triggering At Times, Heavy Lore, Horror, M/M, Romance, Tragedy, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2020-07-31 21:53:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 75
Words: 162,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20122267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkeletalKitsune/pseuds/SkeletalKitsune
Summary: God created many angels divinely, more angels came into existence through the reproduction of said divine angels, for the most part Heaven was peaceful and happy. When the Seraphim, Lucifer, was divinely created, a downward spiral began. Lucifer fell in love with Earth and the demons present there. Dissatisfied with Heaven, he launched a war, doomed himself, and is now looking for a happy ending. An ending that he can spend with his demon champion, Amon, and his human counterpart, Akira. The question is however, will the archangel Michael allow for that happy ending?





	1. Lucifer

**Author's Note:**

> This fic goes deep in depth into things such as demon and angel culture, there will be extremely triggering and explicit content that will also be mentioned or portrayed in this fic. Please read with caution. Also these notes will be used to convey specific details that cannot otherwise be explained in the fic, such as angel culture and demon culture as well as a key for specific terms. It is recommended to read the notes to avoid getting confused.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The birth of Lucifer and his first meeting with his caretakers -- Michael, Uriel, Azrael, Raphael, and Gabriel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angels age about half as fast as a human child-- as such an angel that is two years old (like Michael's son) is no older developmental wise than a human who is one. An angel that is 20 will have the same amount of development as a human who is 10. So on, so forth.

“Is he the last one?” A chamber filled with angels, huddled close together as they tore open a sac which rested in the middle of a fountain. “I believe so...” One of the angels spoke, carefully holding the sac still as the knife plunged into it, the gooey ‘flesh’ breaking open with a thin slit. “What should his name be?” The question hung in the air for only a moment before an answer came, an authoritative voice swiftly cut through the near silence without hesitation, as though expecting the question. “ ** _Lucifer_ ** .” They turned to look towards the voice, then nodded, before returning to what they were doing. Nobody would question God's choice, and nobody really wanted to. They extracted the child from the sac, its wings unfurling as they did. “That means Light Bringer.” The words were almost muted by the loud wails from the baby. “So he shall be the bringer of light… What a fitting name for such a beautiful child.” The angels worked to try and soothe the infant, hoping that its wails would be quieted soon enough. That peace would fall upon it.

He was the last primary angel, the last angel to be divinely created by God’s hand. Every other angel that shall be born after him will be born of an Irea and a Krisea. This entails that any new angels would be conceived through sexual intercourse instead of divine creation. Lucifer was a small angel when he was born. So tiny and petite, he looked like he could be crushed in their hold if they weren’t careful… His tiny, white wings, blooming with what would become feathers, were twitching and shifting as every angel baby’s wings should. A sign of life and vitality in the infant. But something was strange about this baby… 

“His wings… they’re rather big for a baby aren’t they?” The angel holding the child stated. He held the infant to his breasts, a smile on his features. He wore his golden blond hair up in a braided crown on his head, robes of some sort were upon his body but it was obvious that beneath his clothing there was armor just barely obscured from the eyes of others. A single pair of wings bloomed from his back, beautiful, but definitely smaller than most of the other angels present. The sword upon his hip gave his identity away without issue, no other angel was able to wield such a holy blade. This was undoubtedly the archangel Michael, God’s fiercest warrior and leader of the angel army.

“He has so many of them! Six pairs in total!” Another angel shouted, seemingly in shock. Golden robes covered his frame, almost making him look as though he was wearing a dress, so flowing and long and hemmed with silver patterns. He wore his blond hair in two braids which each fell down upon his shoulders, side swept bangs were loosely tied into the braids just threatening to spill out seemingly at any moment. The twin pairs of wings on his back gave away that he was a Virtue, it became clear as to who he was after that fact is taken into account. This was the virtue Raphael.

“That’s more than even the Cherubim… They only have five pairs!” Another angel pointed out, unlike his other counterparts he seemed anything but happy to be present. His golden robes exposed his chest and were relatively short as opposed to the lengthy clothes of the other angels present. His blond hair was done up in a bun as opposed to braids, a scroll rested upon his back between his two small wings, large and most likely heavy. Out of all of them he was the one with the smallest wings, pinning him as a Guardian angel. This was the angel known as Gabriel.

“ ** _He is the beginning of a new class of angel. The Seraphim._ ** ” The voice echoed out again, dragging everyone’s attention for the moment. “Father… Are you sure about this? Giving an angel this much power can’t--” Gabriel began again only to find himself being cut off by Michael. “Gabriel, you should know better than to question the Lord.” The two glared at each other for a period, icy blues locked before they turned away, undoubtedly frustrated.

“Regardless, time says that in the end everything will work out… Corruption is not what we need to worry about with this child.” Another angel spoke. He wore a dark cloak, unlike the other angels, his was more of a tarnished golden color. He had three pairs of wings, showing that he was a Dominion, all of which hung in a low position and were tipped with black instead of being pure white. His blond hair was brushed out and straight, bangs framed his face with a lock of black which hung over his left shoulder. This was the angel Uriel.

“You can see into his future, Uriel?” A more feminine voice spoke up, this angel was far from the group, leaning against a wall beside the Lord. She seemed so relaxed despite the fact that everyone else was so tense and respectful. She was the first primary angel, as such she fears very little, even God himself was viewed in her eyes as more of a father than an almighty and powerful being. Her blonde hair was wavy and cascaded in long strands down her back and between her three pairs of wings, labeling her a dominion just like Uriel. She wore all blacks and reds, unlike the other angels, a beautiful cloak which embraced her and hid the armor under her clothing well. A dagger was on her hip, engraved upon it was the phrase ‘Aiso Ou Neis Reict’ or ‘Death Will Take You’ in the lower angel tongue. This was the angel of death, Azrael.

“I can see into all futures, I just don’t know which one will become the truth.” Uriel responded to her, to which she just smiled. “I find it hard to believe that, but I suppose I shouldn’t be doubting your abilities, Sau.” Sau meaning ‘twin’, specifically younger. “You shouldn’t, I have yet to tell a lie outside of pure malevolence.” Uriel turned back to the child, reaching out to caress the baby’s cheek. Immediately the wailing stopped and the baby began to calm down. “He shall seek attention… Positive attention, we must give it to him in order to avoid tragedy...” The dominion stated, taking a step back. Somehow he knew that something like that wouldn’t happen… Somehow he knew that tragedy will strike regardless, the needs for this child would not be met in the way they needed to be.

“Well… Who is going to take care of this new primary, that’s the real question we should be asking.” Michael lifted the baby up just a little bit, watching as the child’s wings spread open a bit in reaction. “ ** _That would be you, Michael._ ** ” The archangel raised his head suddenly, staring in shock at God. “My Lord, I have another child to care for, I am an Irea myself. I don’t know if I’ll be able to take care of another child.” He reminded, his own son was only two, as such he still needed constant care. “ ** _You will, I’m sure… Two children is nothing too difficult. Besides, you won’t be alone… All of you will care for Lucifer and raise him as though he were your own. It’s just you, Michael, are going to lead the charge._ ** ” The group exchanged glances, unsure of what to say.

“Here, let me hold him.” As soon as the baby was passed to Gabriel, Lucifer began to wail loudly. Tears rolled down his face. “Gabriel! What did you do!?” Raphael exclaimed, trying to calm the child as best he could. “Why don’t you shut him up again, Uriel?” Gabriel asked, to which the dominion simply shrugged. They weren’t anticipating, however, the ghostly touch of the Lord. He took the infant into his hold, eldritch entity taking the child and holding it to his humanoid body. They stared in shock as the child immediately calmed. The baby seemed to stare, almost, up at the deity which held him. Hazy blue eyes vacantly staring upwards at the winged being. Those tiny wings unfurled revealing the baby’s full form, they opened up like a flower in bloom. So beautiful was the child, especially when at peace. A bubbling laugh filled the room.

There was joy and there was love here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is no male and female in the core angel species. There are sub-species which live outside of the Kingdom of Heaven, scattered throughout the wilds, that do have multiple genders, but the angels that will be written about here are all one gender. They have both female and male reproductive systems, the male reproductive system being more prominent, as well as breasts -- allowing them to be either a mother or a father to a child. Also worth noting the notions of 'mother' and 'father' are not the same in the angel culture. Instead there is 'Irea' (Carrier) and 'Krisea' (Giver). Also worth noting that angels will not marry, and often times will not even be in love, when conceiving. The Irea of the relationship will always be either an equal or lower rank in the angel hierarchy relative to the Krisea. The only exception to this type of reproduction would be the 'primary angels' whom are created divinely by God himself.


	2. Amon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The birth of the demon champion Amon and how he became trapped in his moon, as well as the origin to his strength and his distaste towards angels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amon cannot understand angel speech, but he can understand demon speech. This will change as Earth continued to progress through the eras to come. This section of the story takes place in the Triassic period, long before the birth of Lucifer and the events of the first chapter. It is worth noting that to a demon, angel speech often times sounds like a grating noise in their head. Angels, due to the power of their feathers, can understand demon speech. Michael is aware that Amon cannot understand him.

The world was so young… The heat and humidity of the young Earth was overbearing, a storm was coming and it showed. Lightning streaked across the sky and thunder growled from the Heavens. The screeching coelophysis in the far distance was anything but calming, their unsettling roars filled the world which was currently progressing through the Triassic period.

A wretched scent permeated from the inside of a dense cavern system. The den of two great and mighty beasts. These beasts had powers that rivaled Gods, their strength being what drew them to each other. Their power and love for each other yielding a single egg. It cracked, shattering inward, as a tiny beast began to emerge from it. It squeaked slightly, a pattern of growls and sheer cries. The baby flopped onto the floor like a fish, it’s armored scales coated in the thin slime from the inside of the egg. Dirt began to catch in the fluid, giving the child a rugged look.

“Amon…” The mother spoke in a low growl, lifting up her son. She began to graze her long tongue over his blackened scales, cleaning him as a mother should of all the dirt and fluid that had collected in his short time being alive. The baby continued to cry out, only settling down once he was placed upon the ground. He unfurled his wings and tail, stretching and curling them as though trying to figure out if he could move them at all. Soon enough he began to crawl, spindly arms and legs pushing him forward. After a while he got to his feet and began to stumble. He fell a few times, sprawling out, before rising back up and trying again, his balance still not perfected.

When his parents were confident he knew how to walk, they began to walk out of the cave, the child followed suit loyally. Squeaking after them meekly.

Up in Heaven at this time, Lucifer wasn’t even a thought… His form was being sketched out by God himself, but other than that the heavenly angel wouldn’t come into existence for another 110 million years. As such, in a world with the corpses of Titan’s such as Amon and his parents littering the landscape, the baby would be all alone once his parents died… A fate that may occur sooner than later.

“You must hunt...” His father spoke to him, words that he couldn’t really understand. He understood what he was saying, but if he tried to formulate a response then he’d fall short. The titan wouldn’t be able to learn how to speak for another handful of months. He watched as his parents hunting down beasts so much larger than them. Bringing giant lizards down with sharp blows, before telling him to try it himself. Only a few hours old and being asked to kill. If only they knew the power the child had.

Amon’s first kill happened on the day of his birth when he killed the alpha coelophysis, effectively rendering the entire pack completely useless. Death befell all of them and the small family of three ate until they could not eat anymore, satisfied for the next handful of days at least. His parents didn’t realize they were raising their demise, especially when they taught him how to spar.

Was it a surprise, then, that he killed them?

He didn’t mean to, he didn’t understand death, not yet at least. He was only ten months old by this point and he was all alone. Standing over the corpses of his parents which lay mangled on the ground. Their blood carried a rancid stench diffused by the storm which rained down upon him. Amon pushed his parents lightly with his claw, only to get no response from them. He did it again… nothing.

‘Why aren’t you waking up? Don’t you want to congratulate me on my victory?’ The only thought going through his head… It took an hour for him to realize that their eyes would never open again. He neared the corpse of his mother, took her wing and began to curl up beneath it. Close to her body, shielded by the rain. He took in her scent, the remains of her warmth, not caring that he was bathing in her blood all the same.

A faint light. Was that a bird? Amon peered into the world from beneath his mother’s wing. He had no idea what an angel was, so when Michael descended from Heaven he had no idea what to expect. “You killed them… Amus and Aotz…” The demon couldn’t understand what he was saying, the speech hurt his head. He wanted the creature to shut up, to not speak again. “The world’s king and queen, and you, their child, murdered them without a second thought or consideration.” All he could make out was the angry tone of voice the other used, how sharp it was, cutting into his brain. He folded his head wings down trying to block out the sound of his speech.

Fear sparked in his chest as he wrapped his wings around him, his tail coiling with it’s spines exposed in order to shield him from anyone that came too close. He leaned closer to the corpse of his mother, hiding in the shelter of her wing. He could remember how whenever there was danger she’d shield him with that wing… How many scars lined her membrane because of it? He couldn’t possibly know.

“You are too dangerous to be kept alive or on Terra!” Michael approached and nearly lost his hand as Amon snapped at him from beneath the wing. Nobody would touch his mother. Especially not a hideous sky rat who spoke in a tongue that caused his brain to pulse in his skull. Repulsed, Michael pulled out a heavy staff from the holster upon his back and struck the beast. Amon hadn’t anticipated the sudden attack and found himself dazed, long enough to not stop the angel as he turned his parent’s corpses into stone.

Their bodies curled around his tiny frame and slowly and steadily solidified around the small demon. Soon enough he was completely encased, a thick rock entombing him.

The heavy scent of the rock made Amon dizzy, and he found himself falling into a deep slumber. Michael watched as the stone settled on the ground, not knowing what would become of the beast inside. Feeling as though he sufficiently neutralized the danger, he returned to heaven. What he hadn’t anticipated was the extreme strength that the beast would have from within his tomb.

Creatures made contact with the stone only to find themselves being absorbed into it, adding more volume to the rock. It expanded, rose into the air, and eventually became a giant moon hanging suspended in the sky with the face of Amon’s mother engraved into it. An advanced cavern system bloomed within, hiding the beast within a maze of ‘moon stone’. Every creature that fused with the moon added to his strength and intellect, increasing the volume of his tomb; even their memories mended with his.

Amon’s moon hung in the sky, a grim reminder of what was to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amon's parents, Amus and Aotz, are the King and Queen of Earth/Terra because of the fact that they are the strongest and most intelligent beings on Earth at the time. Amon, who is their son, would inherently be just as intelligent and powerful. He does not know his own strength, and thus couldn't stop himself from killing his parents.


	3. Gabriel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer's first glimpse at Earth/Terra, and the beginning of his love for Demon kind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The angel calendar is integral for figuring out how the story progresses. There are thirteen months in the angel calendar, coinciding with the length of time an Irea is pregnant with their child. The thirteen months are named after the planets that are closest to Heaven at the time. The order of the months, their seasons, and their names are as follows. Mercury - End of Spring start of Summer > Venus > Terra > Mars - End of Summer start of Autumn > Ceres > Jupiter > Saturn - End of Autumn start of Winter > Uranus > Neptune > Pluto > Haumea - End of Winter start of Spring > Makemake > Eris -- it's worth noting that winter is the longest season for angels mostly due to the nature of Heaven which will be explained later. Every month has thirty days exactly, thus making the entirety of the angel year 390 days.

Lucifer was born in the Angelic month of Ceres on the fourteenth in the angel year of 10666 -- hence where the devil got his number. He grew quickly. By the third day of the month of Haumea within the same year of his birth, the beautiful angel began to walk. He stumbled a lot, but soon enough he had learned how to walk about with very little help. Subsequently, the following year, on the twentieth day within the month of Terra, he took to the skies for the first time. He fell from the air and nearly drowned in the wilds, but in the end he learned how to fly, and learned to try and avoid the wilds of Heaven altogether. He wasn’t strong enough to handle the beasts that live there.

In the month of Venus, on the eighteenth day, of the next year he was first presented to angel kind. They gawked at his beauty, his elegance, and his purity. They classified him as a new type of angel, a Seraphim. Angel kind declared him holy enough to be considered something akin to royalty. In the month of Pluto that same year, on the last day, the thirtieth, Archangel Michael was officially assigned as his primary caretaker. His parental figure to say. After the baby was released from the care of the Virtues, angels that's purpose is to care for the infants of Heaven for the first handful of years, he came under care of Michael. Usually a motherless baby would be adopted by one of the Virtues, but this was a primary angel, as such different rules applied.

The second day of the month of Mars the following year, the angels of Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel were all assigned as secondary caretakers. Since Michael had his own son to worry about, it was believed that Lucifer’s chances of growing up well would be increased should the amount of people giving him care also increase. The baby seemed to be in good hands in this way, and on the eighth day of the month of Neptune, Lucifer received an official bedroom in God’s Palace in the center of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Lucifer was a mischievous child growing up. In the month of Neptune, on the fifteenth day, in the year 10671, the child learned how to breathe underwater. This is an ability many angels learn at a young age, their bodies capable of taking in the oxygen of the ocean so long as it is clean. Salt water is a bit more difficult, the saltier the water is, the harder it is to breathe. The higher the pressure, as well, the more challenging getting air from it will become. As such, there is a limit to the ability most angels inherently possess, but for someone as pampered as Lucifer, that didn’t much matter.

To get out of lessons and other such tasks, he would hide in the fountains in the garden, slipping out of sight of his caretakers. Often times he would hide so well that the angels would have to request that Uriel uses his power of future sight to locate the child. This would often work, and the young angel would be scolded severely for such behavior. But that didn’t seem to stop him from causing trouble in such a way. In the end he just wanted to play, he wanted attention, and he wanted to see how far he could take his games before it became too much for his caretakers.

They tried everything to try and get him to stop, to just take a moment and appreciate what they were trying to teach him, but nothing seemed to work. Raphael tried magic and miracles, but it seemed Lucifer couldn’t do much with his feathers. Uriel tried alchemy and science, and while the angel was fascinated for a time, he’d lose interest after a while on it. Azrael tried history, and while he was good at regurgitating the facts, the historical events themselves didn’t seem to curb his desire to do something else. To see something else. In the end, it came to their attention, it seemed that Lucifer just wanted to see something new. To see beyond the veil of Heaven.

He didn’t want to be in a palace all day, and he didn’t want to be sitting about studying, he’d much rather just sleep than do that.

The idea struck on the seventeenth day of Terra, in the angel year of 10672… Lucifer was six the first time Gabriel took him to the Planetarium. It was his first memory in fact. To put an angel’s age onto a scale humans can understand, a single human year is about seven years on average for a dog. A single angel year is about half a year on average for a human. An angel will age half as fast as a human. An angel that is about ten years old, will have the same physical maturity as a human that is about five years old. This is partly due to the fact that an angel is a miracle, they should not exist in nature. Nature does not take kindly to such creatures, as such their bodies will age much slower as a result making them more vulnerable for longer. The first time Gabriel took Lucifer to the Planetarium, he was no more developed than a three year old child.

“Look through this telescope, Lucifer.” Gabriel said to him, pointing at the large contraption which was pointed up into the darkened sky. The young angel flapped his wings so he could climb up onto the stool, he was far too short to be able to reach the lens on his own. He pressed his face to the glass, staring through it for a second. “I don’t see anything, Gabriel…” The seraphim spoke after a while, a frown on his face. “Just one moment, Lucifer, tell me if your view changes.”

The telescope flipped through different lenses rapidly. Clicking sounds emanated from the machine as Gabriel pressed buttons and pulled levers. The cogs turned, the gears switched, everything clicked into each setting so neatly. “I see something!” The child cried out, the bored sound to his voice gone in that moment. “There’s a dial on the side of the telescope, can you feel it?” Dainty fingers reached up, once they settled upon the cold metal, Lucifer nodded. “Just turn that dial and it’ll zoom in and out… You should be able to see the surface of Terra right about now.” Gabriel looked to the calendar, it was the month that such a planet should be closest to Heaven. 

With this fact in mind it shouldn’t be too hard for them to catch a glimpse of it’s surface from where they were. The guardian watched as the boy adjusted the dial and was taken aback at how the child’s wings dropped suddenly. The four pairs of wings on his back fell, folding downwards as though he were cowering in fear. His head wings did something very similar, just in a very different way due to the joins in his skull being very different from the joints in his back. His ankle wings folded tight to his legs, as though he were afraid of something coming up from beneath him and grabbing them.

“Lucifer? Are you alright?” Gabriel asked, approaching the young angel. “It’s… beautiful…” He whispered in return, a moment of pause coming over him. He took a few steps away and approached a projector that sat in the room as well. He turned it on, projecting an image of what was being shown in the telescope upon a bland wall in the observatory. He was stunned… How long has it been since he’s set eyes upon Earth? So long it was now unrecognizable as the pitiful outpost that he had gazed upon over one-hundred million years ago… It was still in the Triassic period last he checked now it had advanced and was deep in throws of the Cretaceous period.

Beasts of all sorts roamed the Earth, their claws bared, they killed each other without remorse. There were all sorts of things there. Dinosaurs which stomped on the ground, flowers which spat acid, morphing beasts of many kinds. Amidst the violence however there were other carnal sins. Lust, gluttony, greed, pride, wrath, and sloth all had their place in the ugly cesspool that the Earth had become. Lucifer had called this place beautiful somehow? Sure there were some pretty things here, like the plants and the sheer fact of life, but what that life was doing was… hideous. How could anyone see it as beautiful. And yet, when he turned back to look at the angel, he was shocked to find he was crying. That was enough of that, the guardian approached and grabbed the Seraphim by the wing and yanked him away.

“You think this is beautiful? Tell me how the fuck could you possibly see something so terrible and hideous as ‘beautiful’!? Are you blind!? Have you not lived in God’s grace long enough to know what beauty truly is!?” His outburst was uncalled for, that’s true, they both knew that. But the fact of the matter was that Gabriel was terrified. Terrified of the fact the child thought that beauty was upon Earth’s surface, and yet he never called anything in Heaven beautiful. “Look! They are beautiful! Look at them live!” Lucifer, by this point, was no stranger to violence. He has been to many training sessions regarding combat. What he was witnessing was well within his understanding.

“This is not beauty! This is… this is a nightmare!” Gabriel spoke, his voice a shrill cry as he pointed to the screen. Lucifer simply began to move over to the wall, he placed his hand upon a beautiful bird woman with a plumage of pinks and blues. She was devouring another demon who was covered in scales, with a long neck, and twelve legs. “No! No it’s not! Look at her, look at how happy she is. Look at her feast upon what she’s earned. She’s living! She has no other thought than to survive. Isn’t that beautiful?”

Gabriel shut off the projector, and the telescope, just as the bird woman was about to be killed by another beast. Or perhaps that was her mate. He didn’t know-- he didn’t care to find out. He took Lucifer by his right shoulder wing and began to drag him out of the observatory as he was yelping and whining. “We are telling Michael about this…” He spoke as though it were a crime that the angel has committed. In truth they both knew he didn’t do anything innately wrong, but the belief he held wasn’t necessarily alright.

No angel should find a demon beautiful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before demons, there were beasts known as titans. Amon was considered a titan, a creature that is so powerful that they rival deities in some cases. Lucifer will eventually be considered a titan in of himself-- as well as any other seraphim that come after him. Titans were wiped out by Amon's parents, leaving Amon, when they died, completely alone save for dinosaurs. Demons are aware of this, and they were able to thrive after the fall of titans.


	4. Azrael

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer goes with Azrael, the angel of death, to learn more about life, death, and Heaven-- as well as how it's only accessible to the dead and angels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The angel hierarchy is extensive and a keystone to how angel culture works. There are nine positions in the hierarchy in total, the classes getting smaller as they go higher and higher on the societal ladder. In order of most powerful to least powerful it is as follows -- Seraphim (like Lucifer), Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions (like Uriel and Azrael), Virtues (like Raphael), Powers, Principalities, Archangels (like Michael), and Guardians (like Gabriel).

“What is this place?” Lucifer asked as he looked about the vacant city they had come to. He didn’t understand why nothing lived here, why any angel below the dominion status was not allowed to come here without express permission, and why it was so empty and dead. “It’s the village of the dead… Or what will soon become the village of the dead once humans begin to lay claim to Terra.” Azrael told him softly, her voice was kind and gentle, hard to hear in the whispering winds of Winter.

“Why did you decide to bring me if nothing’s here?” Azrael smiled down at Lucifer, putting her hand on his shoulder. “Because you need to know where the dead go when everything is said and done. Besides, it is the thirtieth day of the month of Saturn. There is something very interesting here… Something that I think you’d like to see.” She explained as they approached the center of the town.

Lucifer followed her, the entire city was eerie, he didn’t quite like it. The stones which built up what would eventually become a paradise for humans were a marble sort of material. Cold to the touch and seemingly hollow to look at. The buildings held their ground, however, and were able to withstand all that seemed to come to them. That didn’t ease his concerns however, he felt almost as though the buildings were beasts ready to eat him whole. His only comfort was Azrael’s calm behavior.

They walked past a fountain, it was beautiful and tall, with statues standing inside of its pool. Lucifer couldn’t recognize who they were, and he didn’t think to ask. He didn’t need to know, it’d probably make sense to whatever would come to live here in the far future. “Tell me Lucifer, did you learn anything about the universe yet?” Azrael asked him, to which the small angel nodded. “What kind of things did you learn so far?”

As they walked the younger had to think for a bit before he could formulate a response. “Well, I learned about the planets in the sky. I learned about gravity and the more ‘basic’ things.” He explained softly, walking alongside her, his long blond hair catching on the wind and being blown behind him. “Have you learned about Black and White Holes?” Almost immediately did Lucifer shake his head, he hadn’t even heard about such things as that. This was something completely new. Her smile told him that he was in for a treat. What he didn’t expect was a dock.

Lucifer didn’t much care for the oceans of Heaven. The entirety of the kingdom of heaven was one super continent surrounded by thousands of tiny islands all resting atop a cruel sea. This sea is filled with monsters of unimaginable proportions. The Heavenly Beasts. Each of the islands are connected to the main continent through bridges, trains, tunnels, and boat. The Village of the Dead rested on one of the farthest islands, and one of the largest, from the main continent. The village took up the entirety of the island. That wasn’t the most important thing on said Island however.

A dock expanded from the furthest side, one that reached out far into the ocean to a massive construct. Very similar to an observatory of sorts, with a dome shaped roof and tall walls. “This is my home, Lucifer.” Azrael explained to him. “For I’m the angel of death… In order to do my job, however, I must be close to the edge of Heaven.” She explained walking along the stone dock. Soon enough they came to the front door of the construct. Azrael pushed it open, revealing a bewitching interior. Inside everything felt like a dream. A sheer rip in space and time. Things floated here, stars were captured in curtains, there were no windows and yet somehow it was easy to see the moon regardless.

“Tell me Lucifer, where does the sun go when it sets, and where does the moon go?” Lucifer shrugged his shoulders as he followed her to the back door.

“Heaven is different in most places. In most places the planets revolve around the sun and the moon revolves around those planets. But here it’s vastly different. Here the sun and moon revolve around us.” When they stepped out he was surprised to see light coming from beneath the water. “What’s that!?” Lucifer exclaimed. “We are at the edge of the world, Lucifer… That is the sun down there, and up there,” she pointed high into the sky to where a beautiful full moon was ascending. “is our moon.” He was astonished by this revelation, it made hardly any sense but all the same one could suppose that Heaven wouldn’t make sense… It was Heaven. The home to a literal deity that made the entire universe they were to bare witness too. Any place that houses something so powerful was destined to break a few rules here and there.

“But that’s not all, Lucifer.” She put her fingers under his chin and guided his gaze to look straight towards the horizon. A spec of light there, pure white and beautiful, was beginning to form. It grew larger and larger every second that passed until he could tell it was a ring, not a dot. It expanded and grew, larger and larger. “There are things called Black Holes and White Holes in that universe. Heaven is within a pocket dimension that rests between an eternally open Black Hole and an occasionally opened White Hole. The issue with White Holes is that they collapse upon their own weight so someone powerful must come along to reopen the door, like myself. But I can only be so powerful so frequently. As such the doorway is only open once a month. But you, Lucifer, when you get older I’m sure you can open this door whenever you’d like.”

The child was confused by this, but at the same time was so awestruck by what he was seeing through the opening. The universe beyond, a universe he saw so long ago in that observatory. He could see Earth from where they were, it was so much different than seeing through a telescope. 

Something in him told him to run for it, to fly as fast as he could through that hole, but at the same time he knew that he probably wouldn’t be able to get back if he did. “I don’t know if I’d ever be that strong, though.” He spoke modestly, eyes fixated on the world in the distance. “Don’t say that, you’re a seraphim, one day you’ll be the most powerful angel in all of Heaven, don’t you know that?” Lucifer shook his head. “Well then, now you do.” They stood in silence together for a while, just staring at the hole which opened up and was now done growing wider.

“One day, I will take you through that hole, one day you will visit that universe. This will be when you’re older. One day you will see the beauty of the realm of the living. Heaven is easy to return to, but hard to leave. But no ordinary living creature can get here. We angels are built specially to make it through the tremendous force of Black Holes and White Holes, ghosts are too… There are many Black Holes and White Holes in the universe, but only this tunnel leads to Heaven. I don’t know where the others lead, but one day I’ll find out, and I’ll tell you what I find.” Azrael told him, to which he smiled up at her for only a moment before returning to watch the world beyond.

“Azrael, what are demons?” She was shocked by the sudden question, looking towards the child, she smiled. “They are beasts of Terra, they are capable of many outstanding things, but all the while they are cruel and cold. They kill without reason and seek out violence.” Azrael explained, running her fingers through the child’s hair. “I saw them once, through the telescope… I don’t think they’re scary, I think they’re beautiful. I want to see them one day, they seem so happy to be living without any requirements.” Lucifer told her, his voice distant as his eyes remained locked upon Terra. Her eyes widened, shock overcame her, but who was she to say that he couldn’t be fascinated by the beasts of that place so far away? “Well… One day, maybe you’ll see them in person.”

She hoped that as he grew older he’d shake off this love for the monsters that almost every angel fears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each angel in the hierarchy has a specific role in Heaven. Seraphim tend to be worshipers, but this happens after Lucifer's rebellion. Cherubims are guardians of God’s throne and Eden. Thrones are transporters and Chariot Masters, the trains and public transit mentioned in this chapter are run by Thrones. Dominions are the deciding factors of the birth, death, and fall of nations – they are the ‘writers’ of history. Virtues are facilitators of miracles and blessings. Powers maintain the border between Heaven and Earth and make sure people aren't abusing the 'gateway'. Principalities are the facilitators of Divine Acts and Fates. Archangels are warrior angels and make up the army of God. Guardians are angels that protect humanity and try to spread ‘salvation’.


	5. Raphael

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer discovers the first thing he loathes about heaven, the cultural atrocity that is the Irea and Krisea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter contains mentions of rape -- to explain the culture of the Irea and Krisea for those that wish to skip this chapter, in order to conceive a child two angels will mate. This isn't always consensual. So long as the Krisea, or top/father, is of a higher rank than nobody will stop them. To continue on this, angels do not marry and they do not tend to have romantic attachments. After the Irea becomes pregnant, that Krisea tends to move on.

“Where are we?” Lucifer asked, how many times has he asked that question by now. “This is the angel city, for the divine species of angel.” Raphael told him softly. Divine species? Were there other species of angel? The child looked about and saw all the beautiful shops and buildings all about. Everyone seemed so happy, their wings folded tight to their bodies, this was what humans would eventually call the city of gold and why they believed Heaven would be as such. 

“Is there anything special about this place?” Lucifer inquired looking about the town. “Of course there is silly, look at everyone talking, you can learn about everything that’s going on here.” The child didn’t much care for that. He didn’t care about what was happening in other people’s lives. Besides all the other angels just seemed to look at him and smile, before addressing Raphael. It didn’t seem like he was learning much of anything. They cared very little for him, they spoke of him in conversation, but it was mostly trivial things from what he caught. Things like;

“He’s rather beautiful isn’t he?”

“I bet with those wings he’s really powerful.”

“A new class of angel, how do we know he won’t go rogue?”

“Is he a handful to take care of? He seems pretty peaceful now.”

The spring breeze which flooded the month of Makemake caught on his nose, the scent of flowers and fruits was alluring, he was shocked that Raphael didn’t seem to notice him slipping his hand away. He was far too caught up in whatever it was he was doing. In whoever it was he was speaking to. He didn’t notice that the young angel was wandering off towards some unseen danger.

“What is this, sir?” Lucifer asked, pointing at a barrel of fruit. “Why, those are Iaro. Try it. On the house.” The low-class merchant farmer, not even a divine species of angel judging by how he appeared completely male, reached into the barrel and handed him one of the fruits within. It was shaped like a prism, the shaven exterior showed that it once had spines which decorated it but they had been peeled off recently. Lucifer took the prism into his hands, inspected its somewhat slimy texture, before sinking his teeth into the soft celadon flesh.

The taste was remarkable. The main diets of angels consisted mostly of fish and vegetables, since the entirety of Heaven rests atop a great big ocean with nothing else around it. The island itself was remarked as a super-continent only because it’s the only continent in Heaven, truly the island is only slightly larger than Australia. Almost everyone had access to the ocean. Animals like chickens and cows didn’t exist on Earth, as such they didn’t exist in Heaven either. Fruits like bananas and apples are also absent on Earth, thus are missing in Heaven. The fruits they do have, like the Iaro, only grow in specific locations of Heaven and are usually somewhat hard to come by outside of marketplaces. They are seen as more of a treat than a part of one’s diet.

“So, what do you think, little angel?” The salesman asked with a smirk. “It’s… really good, actually.” Lucifer answered him, his sharp teeth breaking through the flesh with ease. “That’s wonderful to hear. I’m here everyday, so if you ever have a hankering for some fruit, feel free to seek me out, alright?” The child simply nodded before going on his way with a soft ‘Ieo’ (farewell). He continued to wander around the marketplace, with his fruit in hand. He managed to eat the last of it just as he came upon an alley. It was dark and should’ve been silent… But it wasn’t. Lucifer peeked his head in, curious as to what the sound escaping from the urban chasm was.

What he saw one the third day of Makemake in the year 10674 changed his viewpoint on angel kind for the rest of his life.

There were two angels in the alleyway, they were moaning and whining in a labored sort of way. One angel, a guardian, was pinned against the wall. Another angel, a throne, was holding them there. He could tell by their wings their ranks, and judging by their mostly nude bodies he also knew they were of the divine species just like him. But it wasn’t just the species he could tell via their nudity, it was also what they were doing. It made him sick to watch as the throne plunged themselves deep into the guardian. Both were oblivious to the angel witnessing it all.

“Stop! Please! Let me go!” The guardian cried out meekly, letting out whines and moans despite the fact that they definitely didn’t want this. “Isn’t it every guardian’s dream, to be an Irea? What’s the problem?” The throne grabbed ahold of the guardian’s wing and pulled it roughly, they screamed-- it was enough to snap Lucifer out of his daze and get him to run far away. What did he just see? What did he just witness!? He ran straight for Raphael, falling to the ground and scraping his knee as he did so. He began to sob, to which the virtue made his way over and immediately embraced him. Lucifer was an ugly crier when he was young, he bawled loudly as his body trembled with sobs, the virtue that was holding him was none the wiser of what had happened.

“What’s wrong Lucifer, why are you crying? What happened?” The virtue asked, taking the young angel into his arms. “There were two angels! In the alley! A throne and a guardian! Th-The throne-- they… they were hurting the guardian!” He cried out, to which Raphael looked over to the alley and then back at the child. That alleyway was notorious for Irea and Krisea practice, specifically of the violent sort. As such he wasn’t surprised that the child had bore witness to something so unsightly. 

“That’s… none of our concerns. If you see something like that happening, you should just walk away. It’s nothing you have to worry about right now, you are far too young.” He explained to him, Lucifer’s eyes widened in response. How was he supposed to leave well enough alone like that, especially if they didn’t like it and it was obvious? “How improper of them to do that in public… At least take them home first…” One angel, whom was speaking to Raphael before, remarked. “Because of them a young child had to bare witness to the ‘conception’.” Another chimed in. “Well so long as it’s a higher and a lower, then it doesn’t matter. It’s just how it is.” A third angel added. Lucifer couldn’t believe it, how could they all be so calm about it!? How could they be okay with the fact that something like that was happening right in front of them.

If only he knew how Irea and Krisea culture worked. Consent was not needed so long as the Krisea was of a higher rank than the Irea. Angels don’t marry, they don’t fall in love, and everything they do is a ‘divine act’. As such it is culturally acceptable for something like that to happen-- albeit it’s frowned upon to do it in a place such as an alleyway where children could easily stumble upon them.

This was the first thing Lucifer hated about Heaven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are about 10 species in Heaven. The divine is the one this story centers around and are the ones that reside in the kingdom of Heaven such as Lucifer, Raphael, Michael, and so on. The others are the Wanderers, Starlights, Echoes, Laborers, Incubators, Dreamers, Halflings (which come into existence post holy war), Spirits, and Chroniclers.


	6. Uriel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer witnesses his first 'drop day', a day where angels are put to the test to decide if they are worthy to survive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each angel rank has a set amount of wings, this helps identify their rank. Seraphim have six pairs of wings -- one pair on their head, one pair on their ankles, and four pairs on their back. Cherubim have five pairs of wings -- one pair on their head, one pair on their ankles, and three pairs on their back. Thrones have four pairs of wings -- one pair on their head, one pair on their ankles, and two pairs on their back. Dominions have three pairs of wings -- one on their ankles and two on their back. Virtues have two pairs of wings upon their backs. Powers have only a single pair upon their backs but they are relatively large and have many feathers. Principalities have one pair but they are slightly smaller. Archangels have on pair but their size is average and they tend to have longer feathers that make them look bigger. Guardians have a single pair and the smallest size of wings overall with the least amount of feathers. The amount of feathers an angel has is a direct correlation to the power, strength, and rank of the angel.

The waves smashed against the sheer cliff side, spraying all who was present with sea spray. Thick and heavy, it made it somewhat difficult to breathe in the mist. The wailing of children filled the air, children who were no older than two months old, crying for their mothers. “Here we gather to see the descendants of the Irea, to witness their survival or their demise, to deem them worthy for the Kingdom of Heaven.” Cheers from the angels present, so loud that it muted the wails of infants which were all being placed in large sacks, awaiting to be carried out into the wilds.

When he was invited to view ‘drop day’ for the first time, Lucifer didn’t expect to see something so terrible. It appeared the longer he remained in Heaven, the more things in the angel culture he found atrocious. The concept of drop day, as he understood it, was that any child who is a month or older by the twentieth day of any given month, would be collected and thrown into the wilds. They would then be asked to return home. Thousands of angel children would be thrown into the ocean, they would either drown, be eaten, or make it to shore. Angels would then bet on the children, bet on who will live and who will survive. Gambling as though they were mere race horses.

Uriel, who stood beside the child, had an expression of displeasure, but it didn’t seem like he would do anything to stop them. After all he was the dominion appointed to angel life, the grim reaper to angel kind, it was he who determined if an angel should be kept alive or if they should be reincarnated as a human in the far future. It was him who decided which soul was worth keeping. That is why he has a lock of black hair resting upon his shoulder, an indicator of how many souls he has revived. Should he gain a whole head of dark hair, he will most certainly die, as is his curse.

In this way, however, he cannot go against the cultural desires of the masses. He is not nearly strong enough or influential enough to hold that kind of power. He may be the second oldest angel, second to his older twin sister Azrael, but in terms of actual say in the life of angels, the only people that have that power are currently the Cherubim. Uriel was powerless, and in the end it seemed that he wished he could take Lucifer home. He didn’t want to be here, but that was an impossibility. It was Michael who offered that the child witness this event in person, but the archangel had his own son to care for. That son who had fallen so ill recently couldn’t attend himself, as such Lucifer was all alone with the dominion. That would be fine if not for the fact it was drop day.

“They’re not actually going to kill them, are they Uriel?” He asked innocently, big blue eyes staring up at the older. Lucifer was discouraged when he got a sorrowful look in return. He seemed so sad, so hurt almost, that the child had to be here. “I… Yes, yes they are going to kill them. Or at least abandon them and see whether or not they survive. It’s the question of whether or not nature chooses to take them out. Survival of the fittest but if I’m being completely honest, it seems more like a roll of the die.” Uriel squeezed the Seraphim’s hand in his own, a soft squeeze which soothed the child only a little bit.

Lucifer truly did love Uriel, he loved all his caretakers, but he was one of his favorites. Somehow he felt as though the dominion understood him better than all his other caretakers. Him and his sister were smart, wise, cunning, and fun-- besides they didn’t always give away his hiding spots when he wanted to hide from lessons. Unless they were their lessons he was hiding from. He felt a sort of friendship with Uriel and Azrael, as such he felt closest to them. Now he couldn’t help but feel like their bond was especially exemplified. They both feared for the children who were now being secured in their sacks, hoping that the event is over sooner than it began.

Thunder boomed in the distance, someone remarked how it was the perfect day to drop the children. Thrones took hold of the sacks and began to lift them into the air. The wriggling children inside pushed against the fabric.  _ ‘They look almost like ria…’ _ Lucifer thought. Ria being a sort of glow worm like creature deep in the caverns of Heaven. He’s only seen them once when they came out for the first time in ten years, as they always do, in order to find a mate. Seeing how those babies squirm, it was so similar to the ria. It caused a twisting knot to bloom in the child’s stomach.

He watched as the thrones proceeded to fly the children over the great expanse of water, stopping a good mile away from the cliff face. Thrones which were free and not carrying any luggage then took out daggers and, not caring about what they cut into, dug the blades into the bags. Lucifer could see blood come out as the first dead body fell free from each of the bags. Sometimes the run through infants would still be alive, but it seemed most were as good as dead. These were often times the first ones to be eaten as the blood would begin to attract the beasts of the ocean.

The thrones, knowing full well what will begin to appear, quickly began to make their way back to the shore, hoping to avoid the beasts as they begin to come to the surface. “Uriel, I want to go home.” Lucifer began in a timid voice as rain started to fall from the sky. He got no response from his caretaker. “Uriel.” He whined, pulling on his sleeve, looking up to him only to see his gaze fixated out to sea. 

A loud splash caught his attention and he turned to look only to see a massive beast launch out of the air devouring a few of the children who were still clumped together on the ocean’s surface. The creature was reptilian in look, with a massive head, long jaw, almost non-existent neck, thick trunk like body, and flippers. It jumped into the air before promptly sinking back into the sea. 

If Lucifer knew anything of the dinosaurs on Earth then he could have possibly identified it as a pliosaurus, although much larger than anything Terra could harbor. A thick stain of black permeated the surface of the water, the blood of angels was easy to identify. Black fluid with specks of white lingering within. The child hugged himself to Uriel, tears beginning to stream down his face, hidden only by the rainfall. A sense of shock came over him as he watched in horror as another beast reared up from the depths. He couldn’t even hear the cheering of other angels as they moved quickly to bet on the children.

A head emerged from the water followed by a long, snake like neck, the beast could be identified as something similar to a thalassomedon, if it weren’t the same creature altogether. It became apparent that if it existed on Earth, and was seen as a savage hunter by angels, chances are it’ll come back as a heavenly beast in the wilds. The thalassomedon reared its head before bringing it down on a whole collection of children before sinking back into the depths. More blood spilled out, a thick wind bringing the scent to their powerful noses. Lucifer put his hand over his mouth and nose in an attempt to block out the putrid odor of death lingering upon the wind.

He stood paralyzed as he watched the children sink or be devoured, he hardly noticed as some drifted closer and closer to shore. He didn’t notice when the angels began to cheer as the first child made their way back to land, sobbing and coughing. Sputtering up the water that got into their mouths. “The first one lives!” They cried out, swooping down to the base of the cliff to begin collecting any children that would drift from the drop point into land. These were the ones deemed fit enough to live in Heaven. This was the fate of any secondary angel, any angel that is born of an Irea and a Krisea. Lucifer wondered how the Irea must feel. To be forced to carry a child and then to watch them undergo something like this. He wondered if Michael’s son was put into drop day, and if so does he remember it?

An angel went to collect the children only to fall into the waves. That snapped him out of his dazed state quickly as Uriel ran to investigate the commotion. The angel was being washed out to see, a guardian that was tasked with collecting the children. Lucifer felt his heart in his throat as the water began to disturb around the guardian. His wings were soaked and as such taking flight from the water was difficult. He just couldn't do it. He hadn’t the strength to get into the air.

The angel let out a scream as it went under, seemingly being pulled down by something. The amount of angels that took to the sky, including Uriel, was astonishing. The ocean became awash in red and black as they worked to defend their own kind. Their own adult kind. The beast who had attacked was revealed to be a styxosaurus as it reared its head out of the water in its dying moments, before seeking deep into the depths, most likely to be devoured by the other beasts that lay in wait. The guardian was brought back to land, and while the event wasn’t halted because of this accident, the signs of ignorance to safety precautions were obvious.

In the end the angel would survive, but he was left missing his right wing-- doomed to wait one thousand years for it to grow back fully. “He shouldn’t have let himself get caught in the tide, the fact he went by the tidal when he is just a guardian shows just how little training he got.” Lucifer heard someone saying in the distance. How cruel… He hated this place, he hated the angels, he hated this world that he was forced to live in. He was a new kind of angel wasn’t he? The top of the line, the strongest of the strong. He vowed that if he was still here when he grew up and not among those beautiful creatures on Terra, than he’d change Heaven and he’d change it for the better.

He would make sure that what happened here on the twentieth day of the month of Uranus in the year 10675 would never happen again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beasts like dinosaurs exist in Heaven's Wilds after they materialize on Earth. As time goes on Heaven becomes filled with animals and creatures from Earth and other planets that harbor life. Many of which go to live among the monsters in the wilds. Even 'artificial' animals find their homes there on occasion.


	7. Tabris

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Lucifer falls sick, his best friend whom he has grown up with, Tabris, refuses to leave his side bringing to life a hidden side to Michael's son that the seraphim has never seen before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angels aren't suppose to fall in love, marriage and whatnot is deemed as impure and limiting. As such any romantic feelings between angels is supposed to be snuffed out. To say that it's impossible, however, for angels to grow romantically attached to another angel is not uncommon especially when they are so young. The prospect of dating is not really acknowledged in angel culture.

On the fourteenth day of the month of Ceres in the year 10676, Lucifer turned ten, meaning he had the physical development of a human five year old. It was here he truly started his lessons outside of simple pre-school type learning. His mischievous personality began to show more, his childlike innocence may not be completely intact, but he still tried to make it seem like he was doing just fine when surrounded by all the perverse divinity Heaven seemed to offer. On the twenty-second day of Haumea in the year of 10677, he began to undertake the immense task of learning how to make miracles with his feathers. An ability that every angel will eventually learn in their lives. He made very little progress in this field since beginning his training in it.

On the thirteenth day of Ceres in 10678, one day before his twelfth birthday, he was given a sketchpad and a stick of graphite. He spent hours sketching what he saw, the things around the room, and found that he absolutely loved the freedom it gave him. It was on that day that he picked up the hobby of art, showing himself to be as creative as he was intelligent. On the twenty-ninth day of Jupiter in the year 10679, he wrote his first poem.

_ In the full moon he sleeps, _

_ Cradled by his mother’s embrace, _

_ Despite the fact she weeps, _

_ Nothing can ever truly replace, _

_ The love she holds for him. _

_ And while I peer up to his face, _

_ I know my heart will surely give chase, _

_ To show him that in his loss I will be there for him. _

When Uriel saw this poem he found himself overcome with grief, a deep sorrow befalling him, one that the other angels would never understand. They would never understand that it was Amon which Lucifer was talking about, a creature that had appeared in his dreams, a foreshadowing to the future to come.

During all this time, Michael had grown to loathe the seraphim. In a way he became jealous of him. Even his own son, Tabris, seemed to prefer Lucifer’s company to his own. He was his Irea, and he preferred the child instead. It may seem childish to grow jealous of someone so young, but he couldn’t help it. That’s why, on the fourth day of Venus, in the year of 10680, when Lucifer was no older than fourteen, Michael challenged the child to a duel. It’s normal for children his age to fight their trainer to see how far they’ve gone, but never has a fight been so personal.

When they withdrew their swords, the last thing Michael expected was to find himself nearly bested by the child. If it weren’t for a well placed window, he would have lost for sure. Lucifer was faster, stronger, and more able than him in every way. Despite the fact that he didn’t even know how to create miracles, his magical capabilities were more impressive than those of most virtues. Both of them were placed in medical units, the equivalent of hospitals, for quite a bit of time. Michael to repair a few broken bones, Lucifer to handle a concussion he received after being thrown through a stained glass window.

When they were both discharged, it was believed that all was well, that all would be well, but the relationship between Lucifer and Michael only soured from then on. Growing worse and worse by the day. The duo never seemed to be the same. They would fight all the time, and it became apparent that Michael was the only person Lucifer would fight with. All the while the young angel never understood why his primary caretaker grew to loathe him so terribly much, why he couldn’t just make amends with him.

On the second day of Mercury in the year 10681, Tabris ran into his Irea’s room, panic evident on his features. “Irea! It’s Lucifer! He’s grown terribly ill!” He cried out seemingly in hysterics. Tabris was a taller child, with a muscular build. An archangel just like his Irea, as to be expected. He had blond hair which went down to his shoulder blades with a wavy style. He wore white robes which hung loosely around his built frame. Despite his powerful structure and strong white wings, his expression was innocent and soft. Doe eyed with a hint of optimism. When they made it back to the Seraphim’s room he was discovered on the ground, ashen, and throwing up black blood. His wings hung low and wouldn’t even twitch as his body convulsed.

Lucifer felt his body being lifted by Michael, not sure if he could detect any concern, as he was carried out of the palace and to the nearest medical unit. When they got there they were overcome by Virtues, one of which being Raphael. Like many of the other angel caretakers, Raphael had a job outside of caring for Lucifer. He worked in the medical units, keeping the angels organized. Due to his squeamishness with blood, however, he never cared for any angels himself.

“Michael! What happened to Lucifer!?” Raphael cried out, taking the angel into his arms, the little bit of blood which had come from the child's mouth made him turn a sickly shade of white. “I… I don’t know… I just found him like this. I don’t know what happened.” Michael explained, unsure of whether or not the charge that God had given him would survive. “Hasn’t there been an outbreak of ‘shade’ recently. Could it possibly be that?” Tabris suggested, hoping that he could help. “If it is shade, then you aren’t to go anywhere near him, do you understand Tabris?” The younger angel shook his head towards his Irea. “No way! Lucifer is my best friend and I’ll be damned if I can’t be by his side through this. I don’t care if I get sick so long as he’s okay.”

Lucifer was rushed deep into the medical unit by Raphael and the other virtues. They found him a nice bed to rest on before beginning to care for him, working persistently to find what ailment had befallen him. Tabris was right, it was Shade. A dreadful illness that attacks at random and slowly, one by one, takes down each of the angel’s defenses. It disguised itself as the white specks in angel blood, the immune cells. “How could he have possibly gotten such a dreadful disease?” Michael asked Raphael as they spoke outside of the room. They had the angel on medication, hopefully he would begin to recover.

“Well the most common way people are getting infected by it is by eating contaminated Iaro fruit, and we both know how much he loves those, truly we should have seen this coming.” Raphael sighed, glancing into the room. Tabris sat as Lucifer’s bedside reading a book, he held the other angel’s hand in his own caressing the flesh gently hoping to soothe whatever turmoil his best friend was in. “Will he get sick by being around him? Is it contagious?” Michael inquired, relieved when the other shook his head. “No, shade isn’t an airborne disease thankfully. I think Tabris should be fine.”

It took a week for Lucifer to regain consciousness. When he did, he was shocked to find Tabris at his bedside, holding his hand tightly. “Lucifer!?” He cried out, tears in his eyes. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” Confusion, why was he so happy? Was he in danger? “Tabris? What happened?” The seraphim inquired, hardly feeling the other’s tight grip on his hand. “You’ve been in a deep slumber for a week now… You got infected with Shade. But that doesn’t matter because you’re okay now. Raphael said that so long as you wake up you’ll be okay.” He still didn’t understand, he didn’t remember being sick with shade. But at the same time his body felt so stiff and whatever was in his arm was really starting to hurt.

“I don’t get why you’re so happy… It’s like an extended nap…” Lucifer offered with a weak chuckle.

“Are you kidding me Lucifer!?” The shock on the older’s face was enough to get his point across. “You’re my best friend, if I lost you I don’t know what I’d do. You’re… You’re the only person in all of Heaven I can trust. You know that don’t you?” They made eye contact for a while, a long drawn out pause, and for a moment Lucifer’s heart stopped. He didn't realize he meant so much to the other, he couldn't fathom how he could be anything more than just a friend. He thought for a moment before he smiled. “You… want to say more don’t you?” He inquired, not anticipating what happened next.

He was taught that angels don’t fall in love, that they never felt romantic attachment towards each other. But he knew that was a full lie when he felt Tabris kiss him. They held it for a while-- it wasn’t unpleasant, not at all. But it was unrequited. Lucifer just didn’t feel that way towards him, but he hadn’t the heart to truly turn him down. When the kiss broke he was in silent shock for a period.

“I know it’s wrong for me to say this, because you’re a seraphim and I’m an archangel but… Lucifer, I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angels are prone to getting sick due to the fact that they are walking miracles. However there are very few diseases that can actually infect them. Those that do are extremely deadly and have evolved specifically to kill angel-kind. Lucifer got out lucky with his illness.


	8. Michael

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The joy of having a child, it should be a wonderful moment, but only if it goes smoothly. Lucifer learns about the frailty of angel-kind when a baby is still-born.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An angel, when they are born(if they survive), are born in a form of sac. This sac is almost like an egg made out of translucent membrane. Often times this sac, when it comes out, is covered in blood and other fluid from the mother. This sac is to keep both Irea and child safe during the birthing process. Without this sac the baby’s wings would most likely break inside the mother, not only that but the blood of the mother will most likely begin to show its acidic properties on the baby. This protective cover also keeps the Irea’s body from completely rejecting the baby as a parasite, giving the baby a chance to survive. When a child is born, the Virtues aiding in the birth will cut open the sac and remove the baby from inside. If the baby begins to cry then it means the birth was successful, if the baby does not then the child should be killed out of mercy, as it will not survive the night. It is worth noting that the blood of angels is highly acidic to the point where if it gets outside the angel's body and gets onto their skin, it will start to burn it away. The only organisms known so far to be immune to the acidic properties are demons.

“It’s dead…”

“What do you mean it’s dead?”

“It’s still born.”

Lucifer stared at the infant he held in his arms, so soft, so small, so fragile, so lifeless… He felt a thick sorrow in his heart. Despite the fact that he wasn’t the Irea to this child he still felt as though he was partly responsible for their survival. After all he was one of the angels that was helping to birth it. Somehow he had failed partly and it resulted in the baby’s death… This couldn’t be true, but it was the thought that ran through the seraphim’s head without stopping.

It is so rare that a child survives and will live to see drop day, then what would happen? They perish to the maw of some great beast lurking in the depths? “It was born still, it’s wings didn’t twitch, and look at those eyes… They’re milky and are staring up so vacantly.” Lucifer looked up to the source of the voice to see Michael standing there with that harsh expression as per usual. Why did it have to come to this? Why does it always have to come to this? Michael was always there to rub salt in his wounds it seemed and he hated it. He was grieving with the Irea who had just lost their baby, and yet Michael had the audacity to glare at him as if it was his fault. In a way though, Lucifer believed him. 

A hand on his shoulder dragged his attention away. Looking over the seraphim saw Tabris sitting there, offering him a reassuring smile. “Let’s get you cleaned up, Lu… You’re covered in blood…” Lu, that was Tabris’ nickname for him. It almost sounded like  <strike> Ru </strike> a name that was meant for some type of pet. But he didn’t mind it too much. It was a comfort during a time where he wasn’t sure what to feel, where he felt mostly numb.

They gave the baby over to Raphael, who cringed at the blood all over the child, before the archangel began to usher the seraphim into the other room. A long hallway with many rooms attached to it. These rooms were known as washrooms and it wasn’t a shock that they’d be attached to birthing rooms. The angels needed to wash off all the acidic blood somehow, if they didn’t than they’d begin to get acid burns. Something nobody really wants to treat for a multitude of reasons.

Picking the room farthest away from the entrance, as is polite, Tabris closed the door behind them and locked it. In the better lighting it was easy to see that Lucifer was practically covered in blood, the black stains were on his face, arms, legs, clothes, hell it even got into his hair. “I’ll get the bath running, you take those disgusting clothes off before they start to burn you.” He told him with a hum, moving past the younger to the tub. It was a construct made out of some crystal like material. Melded together and smoothed out to make a nice soft and cold feeling. Turning on the faucet, hot water began to run into the basin. Lucifer stood still for a moment before he finally resolved to begin taking off his clothing.

Nudity wasn’t uncommon among angels, and to be quite frank, they were taught to not be ashamed of their bodies from a young age. It was stated that to be respectful one should wear clothes in public, but if they are in private settings such as in the washroom, than it is more disrespectful to keep one’s clothing on. As such, Lucifer had no issues with removing his holy garb and letting it fall to the floor, revealing his pale body beneath. His wings were folded tight to his body so as to not restrict movement.

Finding one of the stools in the washroom, he took a seat and watched as Tabris continued with the bath, testing the temperature and ensuring that everything was running accordingly. As he watched the archangel, he found his mind wandering away until he wasn’t paying attention at all to what was going on around him.

“Lu~! You look so cute when you zone out like that!” He jumped as he felt Tabris press himself up against his back, arms wrapping around his neck from behind. A blush traced the seraphim’s features, only due to embarrassment one could be sure. “I’m not cute!” He argued with a pout. Releasing him the archangel came to his front, revealing he too had removed his clothing by this point.

The body of angels are pure examples of their singular gender. With the top half of a woman and the bottom half of a man, from what could easily be seen, it isn’t hard to tell that the divine species of angels most certainly has both reproductive organs. Given that angels also experience menstruation, it’s natural to know that they definitely have a uterus and ovaries, but they do not appear outwardly like the male genitalia does.

“Oh come on, you can’t honestly believe you aren’t absolutely adorable!” Tabris grabbed hold of Lucifer’s arms and pulled him up this feet, pressing his body up against the younger’s. The height difference, despite their only two year age difference (one year age difference by development standings) was remarkable. The other was half a head taller than him, something which was astonishing now that Lucifer thought about it. It made him feel small as their bodies were pressed so close together like this.

“You’re going to get burns if you get any of this blood on you!” Lucifer snapped back, his face bright red to the point it was nearly glowing. With that he began to make his way to the bath. “Don’t try to change the subject, Lu!” Tabris replied, following after him. “It’s not a subject change! Just an observation!” The splash of the water was just as pleasant as its warmth. Lucifer loved taking baths, so it wasn’t surprising that he sunk into the massive tub without much hesitation. “An observation of what exactly?” The archangel asked, sitting in the tub right behind his childhood best friend. “Of the fact that our blood is an acid, now get it off me before I start to burn.”

Tabris chuckled as he grabbed one of the wash glasses from the bucket beside the tub. With it he picked up a sponge. Filling up the glass he parted the others hair to get a nice glimpse at his back. “You have so many wings, Lu… They’re so pretty.” Tabris hummed as he dumped the warm water onto them. He worked to extend each one and individually ran the soft sponge over their length. Stroke after stroke. He felt Lucifer’s body release all tension as he did so, his wings were his weakness no doubt about it.

They sat in silence for a while, Tabris scrubbing Lucifer down as a sign of affection and care, all the while the seraphim thought about the events as they unraveled. “Tabris?” He began, his voice soft. By this point the archangel had finished with the seraphim’s back and was now working on his front. He looked up to be met with a troubled expression, the smile he normally wore dropped from his face. “What’s wrong, Lu?” Tabris inquired, worry evident in his own tone. “Your Irea, Michael… He hates me doesn’t he?”

It would be a lie to say Tabris didn’t notice his Irea’s behavior towards Lucifer. It seemed Michael didn’t like the other at all. “No… Lucifer, I don’t think he could, why would he? You’re the sweetest and kindest angel in all of Heaven. I don’t know how anyone could hate you!” They were empty words in a way, while it was true that Tabris genuinely believed Lucifer to be the sweetest and kindest angel, who couldn’t possibly hurt anyone, he also knew fully well that Michael loathed him. But the other didn’t deserve to know that he was loathed by his primary caretaker, what kind of life would that be?

He remembered going to combat training and while Lucifer was off sparring with someone else he’d heard his Irea say such wicked things. How he hoped war would break out and that Lucifer would die in the fray. How he hoped some terrible fate would befall the child. How he wanted to make the seraphim regret coming into existence. Tabris didn’t know why Michael hated him so much, but regardless of the reason he thought it was terrible.

Using the wash glass, Tabris began to wash Lucifer’s long hair. He was always envious of how beautiful and lengthy the seraphim’s hair was, he wondered what he did to keep it so soft. “I don’t think my Irea hates you, Lu. I just think that he gets frustrated with you is all… But I know that you’re a new kind of angel, a kind of angel that Heaven has never seen before, and because of the fact that the Lord has gone quiet as of late, I’m sure Irea is just under a lot of strain at trying to figure out how to hone your abilities is all. Sometimes you can appear to be Heaven’s fiercest warrior, other times you fall to a Guardian’s sword. I’m sure he’s just trying to figure you out.”

Lucifer didn’t make eye contact, he wanted to believe the words Tabris was saying, but at the same time it felt so empty and hollow. Like he was just trying to reason away his own doubt. “Hey, Lu! How about this, after we leave, I'll take you to that nice little restaurant that you really like. You know the one with the Cusho and Mera.” A cusho was very similar to a salad dish and mera was a type of fish that is native to the lakes of Heaven, it is also the name of the ‘national dish’ of Heaven. “I know that you love it there and you seemed pretty upset by what happened. And then afterwards how about we go visit Azrael. I know how much you love to look at Terra. I personally don’t see the appeal but I really want you to be happy and to shake away all this doubt.”

Lucifer’s head perked up, looking up to Tabris with wide blue eyes. “Are you sure, Tabris? I don’t want to drag you around like that.” A kiss to his lips, followed by an embrace. “I’m positive… You’re never a bother to me so don’t even act like you are. I love you far too much.” Lucifer returned the embrace, his eyes downcast. Since that confession so long ago him and Tabris had become something of a couple. The seraphim figured that he’d at least give a potential relationship between them a chance even if it would never be able to become truly official due to the cultural norms of Heaven.

And yet he still didn’t feel anything more towards Tabris than just a brotherly relationship. He felt bad but at the same time, he couldn’t possibly allow himself to hurt the other. He couldn’t help but wonder what would Michael say to all of this if he found out. What would he do to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An Irea tends to be a lower class of angel than a Krisea, and the majority of the time the conception of a child is very spur of the moment. An angel has a 25% chance of conceiving if both Irea and Krisea are of good health. These odds can be reduced with even the slightest bit of stress in the Irea. Procreation is often advised to occur in an enclosed, safe, and private environment in order for the carrier to have the maximum chance of conceiving. A pregnant angel will then find housing in another section of heaven while they are cared for by appointed Virtues trained to specifically help soon-to-be mothers. An Irea will have no contact outside of the virtues (and very rarely the Krisea that fathers the child) after they reach their second month of pregnancy, their body being too fragile to risk exposure to dangers. An Irea will then remain pregnant for at least 13 months, the same length as a year in Heaven (this was done intentionally). Any baby born shy of 13 months runs the risk of being ‘pre-mature’ even if it’s by a day. The mortality rate of a pre-mature baby angel goes up from 20% post birth to at least 85% post birth. During birth, however, regardless of if the baby is pre-mature the risk of a miscarriage is a staggering 50%. The risk of fatality of the mother, with proper care, is 20% with the rate declining gradually over the next six months after childbirth. However with improper care an Irea’s chances of mortality raises to 65% and only increases gradually over the next 6 months if proper care isn’t given. The process of birth isn’t the only time an Irea can loose their child. Miscarriages are extremely common, a resounding 40% of all pregnancies are terminated due to miscarriages or complications with the carrier. These rates increase in all fields if the child isn’t pure-blood angel. (I.E. The angel conceives with a demon) If a child is born healthy and they survive drop day, than an angel child ages half as fast as a human child and tends to reach adulthood, and a halt of aging, when they reach the bodily development equivalent to 18 - 26 years old. The Irea, after giving birth, will be in a state of recovery for at least 6 months where they will not be able to walk or do much of anything. All in all due to the fact that angels are literal miracles and nature is not fond of such things, the odds of producing successful offspring is extremely slim. And yet just like humans, angels are developing techniques to help combat the mortality rate to increase survival as much as possible– other than removing drop day. Another added note: an angel cannot impregnate a demon, but a demon can impregnate an angel. Another thing to mention is that angels do not eat unless they are carrying offspring. If they starve themselves while carrying, they will miscarry. It is also worth noting that Sexual Coercion is often times how these encounters occur for the Irea, as Krisea tend to hold a much higher social standing and thus more power.


	9. Jenny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer travels to Earth for the first time and alliances with the demons, meeting Jenny, his mother figure, and Sirene, his sister figure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heaven is a place that isn’t bound by time, cosmic law, or multi-universal theory. It is a place riddled with miracles and magic, it is beautiful to the eye of humans but dull to the eye of angels. It is a place where God’s word is absolute. There is no variation outside of the plan. Everything is under his control so long as it is there. It’s a graveyard for free will in the eyes of Lucifer. As such when he learned about the universal variations in other worlds, he grew infatuated with it all, continuing to fuel his desire to go to Earth.

On the sixteenth day of Ceres, in the year 10683, Uriel finally decided to disclose that they were on a foul path with Lucifer. That time would yield, if they continued as they are, a massive tragedy and a great war. Michael, who had only grown to loathe the seraphim, scoffed at the idea. “Lucifer is a coward, I doubt that he’ll truly do anything.” Many of the other angels were worried by his warning, but all the same trusted Michael, and so they turned a blind eye to the threats that were showing themselves in the child’s behavior. Including his inability to create miracles.

On the fourteenth day of Saturn in the year 10684, Raphael had enough. It was obvious that the child would never be able to make a miracle. With the back of his hand he struck the young angel’s face, sending him to the ground. Normally the virtue was very gentle, abhorring violence, but it seemed he blamed Lucifer’s own lack of enthusiasm for learning as the main hindrance for his ability to do something so natural for other angels. The prince ran away, choosing to lock himself in his room for days, refusing to come out not even to eat. He would only let two people in, and that was Azrael and Tabris.

On the twenty-fifth day of Mars, in the year 10685, Lucifer disclosed to Azrael how he hated heaven and how he wished he could run away. He told her how he wished everyone who had ever “taken care of him” would suffer a terrible demise. He explained that it seemed that only her and Uriel truly cared for him. Azrael responded by telling him that it just wasn’t true, but at the same time she knew she was lying through her teeth. Michael had successfully made the other angels that cared for him turn their backs on him. Spreading a poisonous lie unintentionally that the child wasn’t worth helping. That he was an insignificant speck in their lives, a mere trophy child to be observed.

On the fourteenth of Ceres in the year 10686, his twentieth birthday, Lucifer created his ‘holy weapons’. With his own hand he crafted a beautiful sword which he named ‘Aishea’, the angel name for the star Castor. He also crafted a beautiful bow with the name of ‘Aiwa’, the angel name for the star Pollux. With these weapons in hand, he challenged Michael again and this time he won in a landslide, showing no mercy for the archangel and putting him in a medical unit for a handful of months.

In an attempt to curb his frustration, Uriel began to teach the child Harp. On the twenty-third day of Uranus in 10687, Lucifer mastered the instrument. That, combined with his artistic capabilities seemed to be the only things to stop him from acting out on his violent tendencies. That was, until the fourth day of Mercury where he had gotten into a terrible fight with Michael, one that resulted in a confrontation which broke much of the decorum in one of the many sitting rooms in the palace. It was the sound of the central chamber door opening down the hall, God’s room, that Lucifer fled the palace.

The cool night air in his feathers only ushered him further as he came to Azrael’s home. Knowing that she wasn’t home, he made his way to that dock from his childhood. Running along it, he neared the edge only to find that the white hole opened before him without problem. He took to the skies and flung himself through it. Being launched forward like that was freeing in a way, but also terrifying as he found himself adrift in space knowing fully well that he could not go back the way he came.

He knew where he wanted to go. He wanted to go to Terra, to see the demons. Their lifestyle had continued to be observed by Lucifer and he had grown to love them more and more over the years. He wandered the stars in search of Terra… When he found the planet his dreams were shattered as he was apprehended by Michael himself, forcibly dragged back to Heaven and the palace.

On the eighth day of Venus in the year 10689 he made it back to Heaven, and as a punishment for his transgressions he was beaten by Michael with a whip. Lucifer was locked in his room for days on end, hiding away and sobbing. During his painful recovery he broke the relationship he had with Tabris off and devised a plan to run away again, this time getting to Earth. He attempted again, this time in the month of Terra where the white hole opened and revealed the planet without issue. On the twenty-third day of Terra in the year 10690, Lucifer arrived at Earth.

It was hot, humid, and damp… But he didn’t mind it because it was beautiful nonetheless. When his feet touched the ground he felt like he had been liberated of a massive burden that rested upon his shoulders. That relief didn’t last long as he came face to face with a juvenile Tyrannosaurus. Taking to the skies, with a bit of magical skill, Lucifer executed the beast without much of an issue. He hated to fight but he had seen the wilds of Heaven and knew that these monsters were just like the beasts that roamed the wilds, just much smaller. When the giant lizard fell, the demons all about him grew curious.

They peeked their heads out of the underbrush, staring at him, eyes focusing upon him. They let out growls and hisses, all of which created due to believing that he would attack them, that was until one demon stepped forth. A humanoid creature, truly a puff ball of sorts, with bright fire red hair. Her eyes were massive, her wicked smile discomforting, but Lucifer still found her to be just as beautiful as the rest of the life here. “Who are you, stranger?” A telepathic connection, somehow despite the fact they spoke in different tongues, Lucifer could understand her perfectly well.

“I’m… Lucifer. I’m an angel from Heaven. I ran away here because I’ve grown to love demon kind.” He explained to her in his own tongue. Her smile grew larger. “So you’ve come here with the desire to join our kind?” She inquired.

Now that someone put it like that he found that the answer was yes. He wanted to live among the demons. Run away from Heaven and forsake his position as an angel. He hated the idea of living among them, he wanted to go somewhere far away. This seemed far away enough for him. “Yes! I wish to live among you, please… Will you allow me that?” There was silence, prolonged and tense, before Jenny spoke again. “We will make a deal with you, our kind is under siege by your kind from the looks of it. If you provide us protection, then we will accept you as part of our kind. Otherwise we will remain adversaries.” Lucifer felt her prying deep into his mind, he didn’t push her away allowing her to bypass his mental barriers and gauge how trustworthy he was.

“It’s a deal.”

For the longest time Lucifer lived among the demons, they grew to love him, to cherish him as a member of their own kind. They taught him how to fight like a demon, how to speak like a demon, how to exist as a demon instead of an angel. On the twentieth day of Neptune in the year 10691, they dubbed him Lord Satan. Much to Lucifer’s distaste, but in the end he had no true say in the matter. They made him the king of demon-kind due to his strength and power. They looked up to him and saw him as a powerful god of sorts. The only entity that they believed could very possibly stand up to him was the demon Amon, who was sealed deep in the moon.

“It’s said that he killed his parents when he was only a year or so old.” Sirene stated, looking to Lucifer with soft eyes. “Is that so? Do we know why?” The siren shook her head. “Not a clue, from what I’ve heard of rumors from demons long gone, he didn’t understand what he was doing. Jenny peered into his mind once, for just a second, and saw one of your kind. I think she believes you could release him if you really tried. Understandable considering that if an angel sealed him, than an angel could very possibly release him.”

Sirene made a point, and yet he couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if he did try. “Why hasn’t anyone tried to free him before?” Lucifer inquired, sitting down beside her. The spring that they rested in was so warm, the rocks that they sought comfort in were smooth and easy to make a seat. “Because when a demon touches the moon they begin to melt into it. I’ve witnessed it happen with my own tribe. They begin to get absorbed into the moon and join in feeding Amon.” Silence fell upon them, turning to the demon whom he viewed as a sister, Satan leaned against her with a smile on his face. Jenny and Sirene both hated that smile of his, it was so mischievous and so dangerous, it was a smile that meant he knew what he was going to do was not desired in the slightest.

“Well let’s see what I can do than! I want to try and coerce him out of his slumber. Truly it can’t be that hard.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer can speak many languages. He learns them quick and he’s able to master them without much of a problem. Most just expect that it’s because he’s just incredibly smart. However the truth is that the language of the angels is much more complex. Heaven has two languages. One for just practical use, sort of like casual, and one for official use, similarly to formal. However while most would say that this is just one language with two different ways of interpreting, that just isn’t the case. The two languages are completely different from one another. This is so other species and entities cannot decipher the language of the angels. They have their own alphabet, their own way of speaking, and have more types of words than just verb, adverb, adjective, so on so forth. Satan has commented once that knowing the languages of the angels makes learning other languages a piece of cake.


	10. Aotz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer discovers the demon champion Amon locked deep inside his moon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ryo as an angel has many names. Satan, Devil, Beelzebub, so on and so forth, the list of names are endless, and he will respond to almost every single one except for one. Lucifer (light bringing or morning star depending on how the word is used). That is the name that God gave him as an angel, meaning light bringer, if someone called him by that name he’d grow enraged almost immediately. While the reason for such a name is obvious, he was god’s favourite angel before he rebelled, his hatred for the name is less clear. Whether it’s because it reminds him of God or because he doesn’t believe himself to be a morning star or light bringer (as much as the demons he fights for would argue against that) is unclear. By the time we reach this part of the story where he is referred to as Lord Satan, he has grown to detest the name of Lucifer.

The moon hung in the sky, a behemoth of solid rock… Could it even be considered rock? Crystalized remains perhaps may be a bit more fitting? Satan wasn’t sure as he stood at the highest point beneath the moon. One well placed jump would allow him to touch it-- but he didn’t want to touch it. He wanted to go inside. He could see a cave high above him, the mouth of which was a gaping maw into an expansive labyrinth that the angel couldn’t even begin to fathom. How many creatures had to die to this structure to make it so massive… Why they fell was an even greater question.

“Lord Satan, please don’t go.” He turned to see Sirene standing there, one of her talons clasped before her chest in a pose of concern. She must have come all the way from the springs. “I have to go, if there truly is a demon by the name of Amon trapped inside, than I have to free him. It’s my duty. It wouldn’t be very befitting of me to leave even one of my children to suffer if I can help them.” Her eyes, a beautiful cerulean, focused on the ground. The black stone beneath their feet only solidified her viewpoint, this entire situation seemed so bleak. “Lord Satan, you cannot possibly make every demon happy, you know this. You can’t protect all of us. There will always be stragglers.” The seraphim simply smiled, reaching a hand out and cupping her cheek. He pressed his forehead to hers, a sign of kinship. 

They truly had a lot in common with each other. Idolized for their beauty by their respective groups, wanting to get away because they didn’t believe in being trophies, the desire to experience new things somewhere far out in the world. The desire to be something that they weren’t told to be. It is true that eventually the two spirits would be on opposing sides, both knew that they would always be family in a way. It was Satan that broke the position, his hand falling from her cheek as he stepped back. 

Sirene seemed to want to grab ahold of him but held herself back. Her talons were too sharp, she didn’t want to hurt him in her panic like she’s done a few times before. “Lord Satan, before you go!” His blue eyes were focused upon her, the beautiful siren that stood with her wings folded down before him. “Promise that you’ll come back, if you sense even a hint of dangerous hostility, promise me that you will return to us and find a different approach. If we lose you we’d have nothing.” Part of him wished he didn’t know that was true, the demon race genuinely would believe they were lost without him. He was the first thing to unite them as a population. To seek out different tribes and bring them together. To unite them under a common factor. “I promise, Sirene. I will return if something begins to appear wrong. I won’t die on any of you. I care far too much.” With that he spread his wings wide and took to the sky, allowing for no more conversation.

Sirene’s heart stopped, seeing him in the sky like that, beautiful and powerful despite being so young, she felt envious. Not in a way that makes one spiteful, but in a way that made her almost proud of him. She could remember the first time she met Satan. He had found her broken and bruised, beaten by the beasts that viewed her as a threat. It was him who had taken her into his arms and mended her injuries. Without him, she was certain she’d be dead, and without him she would not be the ferocious force of nature that she had grown to be, the warrior she knew she always could be.

Dust bellowed out from beneath the angel as he landed upon white rock. Moon dust someone would have said, but no such thought existed in this ancient world. Through the light that illuminated what little of the cavern it could reach from the outside, he saw the corpses of demons protruding from the ground. Twisted faces locked in eternal agony. Their bodies mended into the structure they had tried to penetrate. How sad it was, but all the same he was not surprised. Someone so strong would not be vulnerable.

Why wasn’t he being absorbed into the moon? This was an inquiry he held in his mind, unknowing that it was a combination of his own strength and his intentions. Lucifer had no knowledge of just how powerful he was, and how if Amon was to go up against him even in his prime, he’d fall. The angel held more power than any living being should reasonably have. His strength allowing him the possibility to wipe entire universes from existence. Yet despite that he wasn’t coming into this place with the intention of harming its only inhabitant. He genuinely wished to free him and bring him into the world once more. To allow him the chance of living life as opposed to sleeping through it.

He walked deeper and deeper into the caverns, the walls illuminating all around him. He believed this was strange, the gentle gleam and glow of the rock faces all about him, but at the same time he figured that he wasn’t to question. He didn’t know if this was normal or not after all. Coming to a fork in the road, he noticed that one path lit up brightly before him, while another remained encased in darkness. The sharp stalagmites and stalactites told him pretty openly that this cave wasn’t going to be the safest. Like teeth jutting out of the ceiling, waiting to sink into his beautiful pale flesh.

Pause… he held his position as he raised his head wings. Leaning towards each path he listened for any noises, any sounds that could potentially lead him to figure out what was beyond the veil. With nothing else to go by, he chose the path which was lit. After all, he could see better in it. If he could see then it meant he was at less risk. He kept his head up, eyes forward, focused on the path ahead. Obviously, however, it must have not been focused enough as he felt his foot slip upon the edge of some steep decline. His wings spread and he flapped them a bit before grabbing upon the other side. A ravine, a small opening which dropped into the deep depths below. He couldn’t see anything, which led him to wonder just how far the drop went.

Finding the purchase to grab upon the ground and drag himself up, he carried on. Knowledgeable of where his blue eyes should now stay without wander, he figured that bumping into a wall was a smarter idea than falling into oblivion. Who knew what was down there. Loyally, like a moth to a flame, he followed the glow of the path, noticing with growing anxiety that the light was disappearing as he walked along, diminishing behind him as though the thing causing it was turning away.

“No turning back now I suppose…” Lucifer mumbled as he pressed onward, following the light loyally. He jumped over sharp drops, maneuvered past steep cliff faces, ducked below sharp teeth like stalactites which grazed across his folded wings. He kept going until he felt his body slam against a wall. He staggered for a moment, finding his purchase, before he gazed up to it.

Crystals, thousands of them, inside this wall. He felt about it, wondering if perhaps the light had lured him deep into the cavern to trap him here. At the same time however, he felt no danger. Why would this entity just draw him deeper and deeper into the core of the moon just to kill him? Why not kill him when he was just entering? Absorb the power of an angel while he can? Something wasn’t adding up. Satan pressed against the wall to feel there was a bit of give. The wall was thin.

He took a few paces back into the darkness, careful to not let himself fall, before he got himself ready to charge. It was in this moment Satan partially regretted joining the demon’s lifestyle of nudity. He wondered if his clothing would brace the blow a bit. If it would keep him from scraping himself up in more… delicate places. But at the same time he didn’t care. He wasn’t an angel anymore-- he was a demon, and like all demons he was going to handle this right. Taking the pain and enduring it to reach his goal. A grin spread across his features as he psyched himself up, sharp canines making a fine point.

If any angel from heaven saw their seraphim as he was now they would think he looked beastly. Long, messy hair which hung about his shoulders. His naked body covered only by patches of feathers here and there, exposing his form to things as impure as mortal life-- or demons. His teeth and body itself were the biggest changes. With his features much older, his body more muscular than when he left, his teeth sharpened from his mostly carnivorous diet, his stomach even has grown to adapt to the mostly raw meat he consumed. Raw meat which often came from dinosaurs or small mammals which populated the prehistoric landscape. 

He was twenty-six at this time, meaning he looked no older than a thirteen year old human, getting ready to slam his tiny body into a wall of solid petrified remains. But he didn’t matter. With a grin on his face he took off, slamming his shoulder hard against the wall. He busted through, his body going flying from the force, and falling upon the ground. His wings sprawled out all about him and for a moment he lost consciousness. He lay there for a while, eyes sealed shut, a thin line of dust falling all over him like a blanket. When he opened his eyes, he found that dust had clumped in his eyelids, broken only by the overproduction of mucus.

Pushing himself up he felt a burning pain all over his body. Cuts lined his thin frame, black blood which was beginning to ooze and dribble in thin lines down his limbs. One gaze down at his bare breasts, which had begun to come in only recently, revealed that no part of his body was spared. Dark black blood seeped from open cuts which lined the curvature of his chest and stomach, thankfully though nothing seemed deeper than a shallow gash. Some water and rela leaves would do just fine to help it heal. Not to mention rela sometimes produces ethanol, something he was more than happy to consume. Just the thought of it numbed his pain quite a bit.

After taking another moment to recover, Lucifer pushed himself to his feet, his form rising as pain flared through his back. A look at his wings revealed that one of the lower ones, the one which was on his hips, was beginning to swell. A sprain no doubt… how lovely. It wouldn’t hinder his flying, he had more wings to keep him aloft, but he definitely wouldn’t be able to be as efficient. He’d need a lot of rest.

Light… The glow that had guided him here, as he rose to his full height, illuminated the entire alcove which he had discovered. Bright light coming from the walls showed that the chamber he had pushed through was massive in size. Two fingers were in the walls opposing to each other, one to the far left and the other to the far right. They looked very similar to the creature which lay, still as stone, in the center of the open room. The wings of the frozen corpses were spread wide, as though they were once trying to shelter the beast, but alas… They could only do so much as they were.

Satan approached the resting figure, finding that the dust which had collected upon its form had only made it look as though he was just as petrified as everything else in the labyrinth. “Amon…” He whispered, letting himself fall to his knees beside the figure. He was so beautiful, a pure survival machine, resting quietly and peacefully among the stone. Lucifer watched the gentle rise and fall of the titan’s back, his wings and tail wrapped around him so tight, his face only barely exposed.

A gentle and tentative hand reached out to caress the creature’s wing, he expected to feel something hard and solid almost like stone, but instead he felt the soft membrane of his wings. Now the question was how to get him out of here?

A yawn escaped the fallen angel and he found that he couldn’t think clearly anymore. He head was pounding, his mind was hazy, so he spread his wings out large and wide and wrapped them around the larger figure.

He could hardly blanket him with his own wings, but all the same he wanted to make sure that the demon was nice and warm. Lucifer allowed himself, leaning up against the resting ‘monster’, to sleep. Hoping that when he wakes up the next day, on the morning of the third of Venus, 10693, he would have a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An angel’s feather can restore naturally and completely after 100 years. Since an angel’s feather is considered a free miracle if someone gets hold of one, it takes an extremely long time for it to grow long enough to be worth flight but even longer to be worth a miracle or to hold any form of power. There is another way, however, to make the feathers grow faster. Blood sacrifices. If a living entity offers their blood to help an angel restore their feathers, by feeding their blood to an angel, than it’ll help restore the fathers upon their wings. The amount of blood as well as where it comes from and how fresh impacts the amount of feathers grown back. For example, a pint of human blood, fresh out of the human, unmerged and completely normal would restore 100 of Satan’s feathers. However a pint of Akira’s blood, due to him being a human and also merged with Amon, fresh out of the body, would restore 500 of Satan’s feathers. The power and sentience of the entity is in direct correlation to how well the blood works to restore the feathers. The best species to restore feathers would be angels themselves. Note: If two feathers are plucked at once, it won’t take 200 years for them to restore. It’ll still only take 100. Angels can regrow multiple feathers at once similarly to animals with hair.


	11. Sirene

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Lucifer is ambushed by a bunch of angels to be taken back to heaven by force, Sirene tries to protect him only to find that she's no match for them. All is lost, until a mysterious demon appears to scare the angels away and keep Lucifer on Earth one more day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to trauma and conflict, Satan is very protective over his wings and who is allowed to touch them. If he allows someone to touch his wings it means he trusts them greatly. Those who do get the ability to touch his wings comment that they are soft and fun to play with. Lucifer has commented that the feeling of someone gently spreading his feathers apart and running their fingers along his wings is very relaxing and is good for soothing him. However on the reverse side, if someone else he didn’t trust tried to grab onto his wings he’d expect the worst and most likely attack– many people have died because they’ve frightened him in such a way.

“Let him go!” A shriek that echoed through the trees, a herd of deinocheirus raised their heads towards the commotion. Their beaks dripping with the water from the fresh water reservoir they were eating from. “Sirene no! Don’t--!” The sound of tearing flesh followed by a cry more bird like than human as a body fell to the ground with a wet ‘thwump’. 

“ ** _Sirene!_ ** ”

Tears, hot and burning, streamed down the mud stained cheeks of the young angel. He felt hands pulling on his wings, arms, and hips. He failed to struggle against them, shock filling him, before he grew angry. He fought against their hold. Pulling and pulling, despite how much it hurt. “Look at what you did! Look at her! You hurt her!” He screamed shrilly, trying to break away from them all the while tears ran down his face.

“She’s a demon, Lucifer! She doesn’t care about you! She doesn’t love you! Don’t you want to come home?” Michael’s voice was as awful to listen to as usual. “Why would I want to come home!? After what you did, I never want to come home! I hate every single one of you! Terrible and ugly rats! I hope each of you get your wings torn off in the wilds and your bodies devoured whole! I hope you live long enough to feel the burn of stomach acid!” He was fuming as he struggled against them, adrenaline pumping through him.

An explosion in the side of his head sent stars flying across his vision as he fell limp for a moment. Pain… So much pain in his head as blood oozed from his forehead. Michael had struck him, hard, on the side of his skull. Fingers tangled in his mess of light hair, pulling his head up. The light from the sun above the canopy caused a dull throb to continue in his body. It hurt… Everything hurt. His eyes struggled to focus on the figure which towered above him like a monster from a child’s closet.

“How dare you say such things to us you selfish brat! When we get back to Heaven I’ll be sure to lash you on the back twenty times before submerging you in salt water for an hour. See how you like it then.” Tittering, he heard it from behind him, the angels that were holding him were laughing at his misfortune. What did he do wrong? He just wanted to live among the demons… He just wanted to feel their warmth, see their life, admire the beauty which was here and now he was being beaten because of it.

A weak sob escaped him, he was still just a child after all. He didn’t know the full extent of right or wrong, and should anyone else ask than they’d answer with a ‘no this isn’t wrong’, he’s happy, he’s healthy, he’s not in danger… And yet it was so taboo for an angel of his ranking to run away, it might as well be worthy enough to get him to fall. “Look at you, Lucifer… You’re the light bringer, and you sit here before us, showing your body that God gave you to a bunch of demons. How disgusting you are, absolutely disgusting. Full of sin and corruption. Tell me, how lustful have you been down here? How gluttonous? How absolutely foul have you been, displaying the carnal sins? Tell me!”

The screaming didn’t help his headache as more tears rolled down his face. He just wanted to run to the body of the bird demon that lay a ways away. He saw her form, broken and beaten, yellow blood forming a bright puddle all around her. It stained the grass and dirt all around her. The bones which protruded from some of her wings really didn’t help their case. Another blow, this time from Michael’s foot, to the side of his head. It rocked him so hard that the angels holding him released his body and let it fall limp to the ground. He tasted the foul flavor of blood on his tongue as it dribbled out of his mouth.

A dainty hand reached out to try and grab Sirene’s, before his digits could grab hold however, he felt the burning hot pain of something sharp stabbing into his wings. A screech so loud that it could be heard clearly by anyone listening closely enough.

Michael twisted the blade that had pieced Lucifer’s one wing and ran through the other, pinning him to the ground, a grin on his face as he watched the angel writhe in pain. The angel whom he despised more than anything else in Heaven. He had since discovered Tabris’ love for the seraphim, and made sure that child knew that the angel was not worth his time, and he was planning on making God’s most beautiful angel pay for stealing his son from him. “I doubt Tabris would love an angel with a bad wing!”

He tried to pull away from the sword, but it was running his through, and as such couldn’t do much but scream and cry out in pain. He could attack back, but all the same he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to fight Michael or the other angels. He didn’t want to go against Heaven. He hated them, but all the same they were his family. How does one kill their family!? “Help! Someone he--”

Another blow, this time he saw a tooth skitter across the ground and disappear into the tall grass before a tiny insect demon took it up and ran off with it. “Shut the hell up, Lucifer! Don’t you get it!? The demons don’t care about you! They wouldn’t ever save you!” The laughter grew louder and louder, especially as the boy began to sob uncontrollably on the ground. Was this going to be it? Was he going to be held captive in Heaven from now on? No longer permitted to run away? What would become of the demons? What about Sirene? He had to do something… Would he really have to kill them? Would he really have to fight? It seemed like he had to and yet… The thought terrified him more than anything.

“Alright let’s take him back to Heaven and--” a rustling. The angels turned to face it, their eyes focusing upon the noise. They couldn’t get a good grasp on it through Lucifer’s quiet sobs. It came again, and once again they missed whatever it was. “I’ll go check it out.” An angel stated, approaching the taller grass. He was looking around between trees and, for a moment, it looked as though he was going to say the coast was clear.

A ferocious beast bounded out of the darkness and grabbed hold of the angel. He screeched as the demon began to rip his wings off, his breasts were torn away from his body, his face scratched off, soon enough the demon was raking his claws so deep that organs began to spill out amidst black blood. The body began to seize there, before finally dying. The angel had passed, leaving the monster to be the center of focus.

“Amon?” Michael whispered in terror, withdrawing the sword from Lucifer’s body. He backed away, before he saw Amon spring at him. The angels screamed and took to the sky. One more fell prey to the titan’s claws, fighting valiantly, before they too were dead. By that point, the angels were too far away from Lucifer for the beast’s comfort. He wanted to stay by his ‘companion’ for now. After all, was it not the angel which came to his side every day and brought him food, knowing full well that he couldn’t eat it but still wanting to try? Was it not him that wrapped his wings about him to keep him warm? Was it not him who had cared for him this entire time? Was it not him who awoken him with his cries and shrieks of pain just a few meters from his moon?

Amon approached the body of Lucifer, gentle claws lifting him up. He was on the edge of lucidity, that much was obvious, as he cradled his form to his chest. The titan walked past Sirene, who just stared wide eyed at the beast who had appeared. The beast of legend, the monster that would become the champion of the demons. A creature so strong that he was sealed away for millions of years inside of a moon. However she too was losing consciousness and soon enough was out like a light.

Amon approached the fresh water reservoir, not minding the deinocheirus which were still dining on the shore. His body, which was coated in white moon dust, entered the water. He watched as the dust came off with ease and rocks began to fall out from between his plating, revealing midnight black scales and blue flesh.

Slowly he lowered Lucifer into the water, submerging all but his face as he lowered his head to begin dragging his tongue along his wounds. Lapping up the blood and cleaning them almost like a modern day cat. He traced his tongue over his shoulders, arms, legs, stomach, hips, chest, neck, face, even wings… There was not an inch of him which was spared the cleaning powers of the beast. In the shallow water he sat upon the bank, cradling the angel in his arms as though he were his prized possession.

In a way, Lucifer was the closest thing to family he had… He was the only one to have shown him love since his parents died. That was enough to warrant being his mate, let alone his closest companion. For hours Amon waded in the waters, growling at any demon that got close to him and the angel. As the day fell into night, as the moon began to fall to the ground, the titan rose to his feet and began to head towards a hidden cavern system that he had grown up within. 

The caves had not been touched since the death of his parents, they were still there, everything was still there. The demons had grown fearful of such a place believing that misfortune lingered within. They would be correct. Amon knew his parents, he knew their tricks for their souls had imbued him with their knowledge from within the stone of his moon, and he knew there were so many traps hidden about the darkness. But the prince of Earth knew so well what they were.

He slipped into his cave, settled Lucifer down in the nest his parents had constructed so long ago, before curling around him protectively in the darkness of the cave. He wrapped his wings around him, cocooning him protectively. Eyes watching the entrance to see if anyone would come in. A few came to the opening, to which he growled aggressively as a warning. When some would step past the threshold, they would hear his roar, which would very quickly frighten them away.

He was always careful, however, to avoid awakening the angel in his arms. He would not allow him to break his rest for any means except restoration. Lucifer was his, and nobody else’s, that was the end of it.

So on that chilly night, the day of the 8th of Pluto coming to an end in the angel year of 10693, Amon found the one he wanted to make his mate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amon, by this point, has grown used to Lucifer's presence. He will do anything to preserve it. By this point Satan has made it a habit to visit Amon in his moon every single day. And he will continue to do such until he cannot anymore. When Amon wakes up, the joy is mutual for the two of them.


	12. Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After another confrontation with Michael, Lucifer, Amon, Sirene, and Jenny hold a serious conversation about Amon's relationship with Satan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good news -- Devilman: Eden is now going to be on Fanfiction.net as well! If you prefer to catch up with the story over there instead of on here, as I know people have a preference, you can do that now! [Read Devilman: Eden on Fanfiction.net!](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13369129/1/Eden)

“Ow! That hurts…” Lucifer whined as he looked back to Jenny who was making something very much like a splint with wood, leaves, and vines. “I understand Lord Satan, but you were wounded… We can’t very well have a leader with a bad wing now can we.” The angel pouted, almost like a child, before another wince interrupted his expression. How many times now has Michael come down to Terra to try and take him home? Too many times to count it seemed. But each time he was rescued… 

Looking up towards the mouth of the cave, he could see the beast perched there, eyes glaring out into the beyond, warning anyone who dare come near that they were facing death with him. Since that day that Amon awoke, that first time he saved him, he has grown such an attachment. The beast of the moon, which has since fallen and devolved into the millions of petrified remains once held together by the fate they’d succumbed to, has been so protective of the angel since his awakening. They slept together, ate together, flew together, every waking moment the beast was by the prince of darkness’ side. Never giving him so much as a moment of peace save for very specific situations.

It was almost as though he was afraid of Lucifer dying… Considering the rumors of his past, all of which seem to have been confirmed by this point, he couldn’t blame him. Satan never had real parents, he was raised by Michael, but he couldn’t say that Michael was neither Irea nor Krisea to him. So he couldn’t quite understand what it was like to lose those that gave you life so quickly, nevertheless by your own uneducated hand. He wondered just how lonely he felt… He probably was terrified of the mere concept of losing someone who had shown him such kindness. After all, was it not Satan who visited him every day and would sing to him every night?

Lucifer was snapped back to reality by something wet running over his cheek. Shock fell over his face before Satan exclaimed-- “Ew~! Amon! You asshole!” Despite his words, laughter filled his tone, in reality he didn’t mind when the demon licked him. He found it to be quite endearing in fact. “Why did you do that?” Lucifer inquired as he used his forearm to brush all the saliva away. He was stunned into stillness when the older pressed their foreheads together, his clawed hand tangling in his long blond hair.

“You had such a sad face, truly a face like yours looks much better with a smile on it… Was it not those beastly creatures of your home that called you the most beautiful thing in existence? Truly they were not wrong.” Jenny pulled away from the back of her lord hearing Amon’s words, joining Sirene a ways away, deciding that it’d be best to leave the two to their own for a bit. The ‘splint’ was done after all… Did Satan need any more tender love and care from them? No… He needed instead the affection of Amon. 

The blush upon Lucifer’s features was enough to portray his opinion of the kind words. He loved it, felt like he was being cherished like no other. His heart pounded against his ribs, as though trying to escape their skeletal cage. Every muscle in his form relaxing as he let himself melt into the hold of the demon. The angel pulled away only to let himself fall against him more.

Dainty pale arms wrapped around the blue torso of the demon, burying his reddened face against his shoulder. Amon was so much larger than him in every way. His build, his wings, his presence was overpowering in a way… It made Lucifer feel safe, secure, as though nothing could ever touch him. “Freeing you was the best thing I’ve done I think… I don’t know how I did it but I don’t think I’d ever regret it…” The angel whispered, a blissful smile on his features. Amon’s claws traced his back, grazing against his flesh in gentle brushes, stimulating and all the while soothing.

“You called me… You cried out that day so long ago and I came to you, I couldn’t stand to hear you howl like that. I couldn't let you get stolen from me. I’ve only known very little, but you’re the only thing I wish to have.” Amon explained, giving a gentle squeeze to the angel, careful not to disturb his wounded wing. “Are you proposing mating with the great demon king?” Sirene inquired, rising to her feet from where she sat.

The duo broke away, turning to face her. The fact Lucifer hadn’t even considered that before now was a shock, however Amon seemed unphased. He said such things as this so often, Satan didn’t think anything of it, and yet when it was brought up he supposed that it was strange of him to be behaving the way he was. Yet the prospect of mating didn’t seem so bad, so long as it was with Amon. 

“A demon only mates once… I know not what his kind do, but he has said multiple times that he is no longer one of them, but instead a demon himself. Considering that, would it not be natural to want to make him mine and mine alone. I am the only demon capable of matching his strength, I’m sure you all can sense it too, and I am the only demon capable of protecting him from his own kind. Would I not be his perfect mate?”

“Mating?” Lucifer repeated, turning back to Amon now, his blue eyes wide as dinner plates. “Do you truly feel so strongly about me that you’d sacrifice yourself to such a decision so early?” He was concerned, what if in the end the demon was unhappy with him? What if he couldn’t be good enough for him? What if he was wrong about his strength? “If you would allow me, I’d take you to bed right now and make you mine. But I understand that you are young, and therefore need some time to decide what you’d like your fate to be. I trust you and whatever decision you make, and hope you understand that I’d be by your side, regardless of if you choose me or not.” Amon’s explanation only confused him more, he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say… what he was supposed to do.

Was this actually happening right now? Was Amon actually suggesting that they truly mate? “ But… I don’t know if an angel and a demon can even produce offspring! I don’t even know if I am fertile, I’m a new ranking in my kind.” He was certain that was a deal breaker. Was the objective not to pass on your genes to your children, to be parents in some way, shape, or form? Was that not the goal here? “It doesn’t matter if we can or cannot have children, that’s not why I wish to mate with you, Satan.” Silence, nothing but the tense silence to befall all around them. 

These were the same creatures that the angels had convinced Lucifer couldn’t love. They couldn’t love anything but their food, that’s what he was taught. Yet here he sits, being confessed to, being told that Amon, one of the first demons, loved him, desired him, and longed for him in every way. He wanted him for himself, and wasn’t willing to share him. That’s what he was being told. “Are you telling me that you love me?” He inquired, looking at the rest of the group almost wildly. “Tell me, what is love?”

“It’s… when you feel strong emotions towards another individual. When you would do anything for them. Usually when you love someone you want to hold them, cradle them, take care of them… You can love your baby, or you can love your best friend, but what I’m asking about is loving a partner. Do you desire to be by my side, regardless of what happens, to protect me and keep me near? Is that what you’re telling me?”

He didn’t expect the grin to spread across the demon’s face as he leaned up close to Lucifer. “If that’s what love is, then I suppose I love you very much… If I had to choose between starving to death and having you by my side, I’d choose to starve to death in a heartbeat.” For the second time during this conversation, silence reigned supreme. What does one say to that? But at the same time Lucifer would be lying if he said he didn’t feel the same way towards the prince of Earth.

“I… Need to take a walk by myself to clear my head…” Lucifer stated, rising to his feet, much to the concern of everyone else around. Tears were beginning to cloud his vision, but they weren’t tears of sorrow or despair… No, they were tears of overwhelming joy. “Amon?” The demon perked, his head hung low for a moment as he believed that something he spoke was wrong. What he didn’t expect was for Lucifer to reach his hands up and guide his face down into a kiss. “I love you too…”

And with that he departed, wandering into the twilight outside, not knowing the danger that awaited him just beyond the veil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Demons only mate once, they will not mate again unless their mate dies before them, but even then many demons choose to stay loyal to their one mate. Marriage is not a thing among demons, so usually the first time they have sex with their mate is when they are bonded for life. If anyone should ever attempt to seduce or have their way with their mate, the demon pair will often grow very hostile. Females of these relationships usually will remain loyal to their mate until death. Amon is basically asking Lucifer to marry him.


	13. Conflict

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer, shortly after hearing Amon's confession, begins to go on a walk admiring the world for what it is and reminiscing about why he's happy to not be living up in Heaven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter contains a lot of violence and gore. If you're uncomfortable with this, that's fine, but here's how the chapter goes so you aren't missing anything. Lucifer gets jumped by Michael and Gabriel shortly after the events of the previous chapter, which results in him taking serious damage as well as getting an arrow shot through his eye. He manages to de-wing Michael. However Amon, Sirene, Jenny, and many other demons swoop in to save the day.

Lucifer loved this world, especially now. Despite the fact that he was wandering about in the warm twilight with his one wing in a splint, he was overjoyed. The leaves and grass which grew upon the ground were brushing against him, dancing in the humid wind. As he stepped, small dinosaurs that had populated the territory of demons began to hop about, happy as can be. He scooped one up, a tiny Aquilops which he easily cradled against his growing breast. His heart was pounding in his chest as warmth spread all through him, he was so happy he could cry.

Amon confessed… He really truly did confess his love for him. He could hardly believe it! He stepped through the thick overgrowth, watching as small lizards, rodents, and insects scurried away from him. This place was teeming with life in so many different ways. Reaching a hand up, he ran his digits over the bumpy head of the tiny dinosaur in his arms. He stroked it like a modern human would stroke a cat before letting it down. It squeaked up at him, almost in thanks, before rushing off.

There were so many things about this world. Demons peered at him during their hunt, or returning to their dens for twilight was the start of the dangerous times of day, their gaze passing through trees and connecting with his own. They’d often times nod or bend respectfully before running off to wherever they were going in the first place. A clearing spread out all around him and in the field he saw a great many triceratops beginning to migrate into their quiet and hidden shelters, far away from predators.

A screeching over head drew Lucifer’s attention and he saw the pterosaurs flying about, soaring beautifully, before being obscured by the tree line. This world was wonderful, if he could, he would stay here for all eternity.

‘FWUP!’ Pain! Sharp pain! He let out a squeal as he fell forward, his body toppling down the steep hill face that he was once perched atop. He rolled down into the small valley that the triceratops once were feeding in, but were now migrating away from. A few turned to look at him, before they continued on their way, a little faster than before. Pushing himself up onto his hands, he felt the pain continue. Reaching over he felt something jutting out of his back. _ ‘Oh fuck… Fuck I’ve been shot by… by something…’  _ Pulling on it, he let out a scream before it came free.

An arrow? Lucifer furrowed his brow as he looked at the projectile. It was an arrow like he used to see when he was a kid. But those weren’t made down here on Earth, those were only from-- it clicked into his head just as another arrow whizzed passed him. He looked over, alarmed, to see that Gabriel was standing atop the hill aiming at him. They had tired that morning to take him back, spraining his one wing in response, and now they were trying again. He had to get out of here, he couldn’t let himself fight them but at the same time he couldn’t possibly allow himself to be taken.

Spreading his good pairs of wings out, he got to his feet and took to the skies quickly. He was unsteady and somewhat sluggish due to his injury, but at least he was out of range of Gabriel. He needed to get out of here before the guardian decides to take to the skies and attempt to shoot him down like that. 

“Now, Michael!” The guardian cried, much to Lucifer’s shock. A sound behind him, he turned to see the archangel dressed in armor appearing from the orange clouds. With his one wing wounded and his slower reaction time, he didn’t have enough time to get out of the way of the other’s blow. Michael’s foot connected with his stomach which sent the younger falling from the sky. He crashed hard into the ground, consciousness jumped all around him remaining somewhat elusive as he faded in and out for a moment. 

That’s when the adrenaline kicked in. He saw Michael coming down towards him and he made a quick move to roll out of the way of his blow. The archangel’s sword pierced the ground and stuck him there. A growl so deep and low escaped the devil as he flipped onto his hands and feet and pounced on the angel. He felt a grating in his body, bones which were most definitely broken and fractured. But he didn’t care, this was fight or flight and for once he was picking fight partly because of the words being uttered just outside his periphery. The phrases he heard just before he jumped away.

**‘Demons have stolen our prince, once we take him back, we will destroy them all.’** He would not allow Gabriel to do something, he would not allow any of them to do something like that. Sharp claw like fingernails and fangs buried themselves into Michael’s body as he tackled him to the ground. Lucifer attacked the exposed flesh, making the archangel scream and cry out. He couldn’t move, not with how he was pinned, only freed when Gabriel sent another arrow whistling through the air, stabbing through Satan’s shoulder wing. A roar of pain as the angel jumped away.

He yanked the arrow out with a hiss, his face and hands matted with blood now. He looked like a ravenous animal almost. He had learned the ways of the demons, how to hunt like one and how to fight like one. “How dare you come here to kill my children! Who do you think you are!? Go back to Heaven you disgusting beasts!” His tongue was poisonous, muttering the words in the language of the demons. The angels didn’t know what he was saying, but they got the message loud and clear. He was going to fight them for the lives of the demons. He would protect the demons.

“I knew Tabris was wrong about you…” Michael growled, picking his sword up and rising to his feet again. He charged towards the angel only to find that Lucifer on the ground was much faster than he was in the sky just a moment ago.

He was upon him from behind, taking advantage of his slowed down form. The armor was not helping him. As such Lucifer managed to grab hold of the beautiful white wings of the archangel and began to claw them up, sinking his teeth in. Michael let out a screech, turning and hitting the angel with his elbow plate on the side of the head, sending him rocking to the side. Pain exploded in Satan’s head, stunning him long enough for Michael to strike him with the hilt of his blade.

Blood, there was blood in his eye. Black gore which clouded his vision and made it ultimately harder to see. Michael charged at him, not expecting for the fallen angel to have any energy left. He rolled towards the other, watching as his sudden movement sent him tripped over his form and sprawling. With that accomplished, Satan climbed onto the archangel’s back and began to tear his wings off.

Tears streamed down his face, he didn’t want to see the other so hurt, but at the same time if it told angels to leave him alone than he would. The tearing of the wing was so strange, feeling each tender ligament and tendon snap from the strain he was placing upon it. Each little bit of meat and muscle giving way as the bones cracked and snapped. He got one off, despite Michael’s writhing and screaming, throwing it to the side and watching as demons attempted to steal it away. Gabriel was so focused on slaughtering the demons stealing the disembodied wing, one they could potentially reattach, that he didn’t even notice Lucifer starting on the next one.

“Dammit Lucifer!” Gabriel shouted, taking aim as Michael’s screams started up again. He let the arrow go, watching as it soared and plunged right into the fallen angel’s eye. A shrill scream escaped him as he reeled back off of his old caretaker. He stumbled away before falling to his knees. “I don’t care if you’re Father’s favorite! You’re obviously just as diseased as the demons here! You deserve death for what you just did!”

With that he began to take aim, Lucifer trembled where he sat, knowing full well that any wrong move would kill him. He swore it was the end as that bow string snapped forward again. He closed his eyes waiting for the sharp tip to penetrate his chest, but it never came. Instead a couple screams and the feeling of wind rushing past him. He opened his one good eye to see Sirene before him, her body becoming a shield.

Over her shoulder he could see Jenny blocking the arrow with her psychic abilities, waiting for the first sign of danger to just let it turn around and strike back at the archer who shot it. That wasn’t his focus however. His one eye widened as he saw angels taking off to the sky, many of them grabbing Michael and taking off. Amon was ripping them out of the sky violently, tearing them apart and leaving them to bleed out. Not only that but many other demons and dinosaurs also joined the fray, desiring the tender and tasty meat of Heaven. A smile spread across his face.

“He… does love me…” Lucifer muttered as tears fell from his eyes and his entire world went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angels have many weapons in Heaven. For the most part they use swords, however weapons like clubs, bows and arrows, sling shots, maces, among many others are also not uncommon. The only weapon that is not common in Heaven at this time are guns-- mostly because that is a solid human creation. However as soon as guns come into existence, or gunpowder more accurately, it will begin to appear in Heaven.


	14. Marriage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amon finally decides to mate with Lucifer, resulting in their 'marriage'. However the two of them are beginners so it's both heartwarming and awkward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter contains a sex scene(in fact the majority of this chapter is a sex scene) however it is a consensual sex scene-- if sex makes you uncomfortable, or you're underage and want to skip the smut which is preferred, than feel free to skip, this chapter is mainly to illustrate that Lucifer and Amon are now mated for life and as such can be treated like Husband and Wife from now on.

“How are you feeling?” Amon’s words were kind, gentle even as he held the angel in his arms. Lucifer leaned against him, their bare bodies close as they always were. “I’m fine… Everything feels like it was just a bad dream now...” Satan responded, it took four years but he can finally say he completely recovered from that full fight with Gabriel and Michael. His first actual fight. That arrow got him really good, causing them to have to remove the angel’s eye in order to get it out. 

However the wing they stole from Michael held many miracles. They were able to heal his eye and other wounds with the miracles of the feathers which were still aglow with power. There is only so much a dismembered wing could do without its owner’s okay. Now whenever the angel is tired or impaired in any way, his left eye becomes slightly lazy… Something that would follow him into his future life as Ryo Asuka. But nothing that would damage his perception enough to deny his sharp shooting.

“Satan?” Amon asked, he was the only demon that Lucifer knew who would just call him by his name, nothing more, nothing less, as though he knew what the angel wanted. That he wanted to be seen as equals, not as higher or lower. “Yes, Amon?” He responded, looking up to him from where he sat in his lap, icy blue eyes filled with love and compassion. “You never told me if you’d like to become my mate?” Did he not? He settled into the other, letting his body relax.

It was mating season wasn’t it… This was an inquiry of much of the demon kingdom, would they finally tie the knot this mating season. Would Lucifer finally let Amon take him to his bed. To say he wanted him to was an understatement. He craved for it terribly, after all they have been together as a couple for years now… 

But never have they done anything more. Keeping their relationship reserved. There were many reasons for this. One was the fact that he wanted Amon to be sure. He wanted the demon to truly feel like he couldn’t be without the angel before making such a quick decision. Mating for life is just that, mating for life, and for them they were immortal. Life could be the same as eternity, until the universe takes its last breath. While it’s true that Amon could just move on if Lucifer passes, he doubted that the demon would, as such it was a concern he legitimately held. On the other hand however, Lucifer was also terrified for himself.

The images of the Irea and Krisea in Heaven flash into his mind. Watching how they did it sent a shiver up his spine. How the Irea would scream out in both pain and disdain for the action. How it was obvious that the Krisea just wanted to have a bit of fun with an angel of lower rank more so than actually producing viable offspring. If the Irea gets pregnant, than it doesn’t matter. It isn’t their job to take care of them… He knew Amon wasn’t anything like that, but it was the key word of pain that caught his attention.

“I see…” Amon’s voice cut through his thoughts and Lucifer looked up at him again. “You’re frightened of something, aren’t you? Tell me, what are you scared of?” How can someone so dark and brooding be so soft and gentle? How can someone who can very much be a monster exhibit so much love for him? “I’m… Scared that it’ll hurt. If we’re going to… mate, than I’m terrified of the pain. After all I’ve…” He trailed off, averting his gaze, his face a bright red.

His breath caught in his throat as he felt the demon suddenly grab hold of him. Before he knew it, he was on his back on the cool soil, staring up at Amon who was above him. “You’ve never done it before? Is that it?” Silence for a moment, before Lucifer nodded. Amon smiled down at him, nuzzling his face gently with his own. 

“Oh, Satan… You don’t have anything to fear… It will hurt, this is true, but I promise I’ll be gentle with you. Your body is so beautiful, it’d hurt me more than a blade through the heart to cause you pain. If you’re willing to trust me, than I will take care of you as though you are the most valuable thing on Terra… Partly because in my eyes, you are.” Surrounded by flowers, Lucifer stared up at him, unsure of what to say. After a moment, he smiled, and couldn’t hold back his laughter.

Dainty hands rose up and he wrapped his arms around Amon’s neck. “Alright… If you’re absolutely positive that you really want to do this, and you promise to be gentle than the answer is yes. I’d be more than happy to become your mate.” The blond guided Amon’s face down to his own, giving him a deep kiss to start off on their endeavors.

Their world was so warm, they were deep in the throws of the mating season. The field that once was barren of nothing but grass and mud, a scene where Lucifer had lost his eye, was now blossoming with beautiful flowers as they lay among the flora. Triceratops were all around them, knowing full well what they were doing being animals of instinct just like demons, and being more than happy to protect the duo from threats oncoming. From beasts and angels alike.

Amon traced his fingers down the distinct features of Satan’s form, careful and cautious so as to not cut him with his sharp claws. The blond watched him in silence. How was it that the demon seemed to know more about what he was doing than he did, weren’t they both virgins? Instinct perhaps?

Amon’s claws settled upon the younger’s hips as his tongue found his breast. A soft moan escaped the angel’s lips upon feeling how his nipple was teased, fingers pressed down upon the arches of his hips making him squirm just a bit out of sheer instinct. He felt a heat growing in between his legs and a swelling in his chest. 

Sweat began to slick his back just as he felt moisture beginning to build between his legs. Lucifer made quick work to squeeze them tight, but Amon was quick to notice. His hands traced his thighs and made quick work to spread them apart, exposing the entirety of his form to him. A thousand kisses made a trail that went from his stimulated chest down to his pelvis. A lick upon his left hip sent a sharp shiver through his entire body.

“P-Please be gentle Amon.” Lucifer whined as anxiety bloomed in him, but at the same time his mind was going hazy from a frenzied and animalistic carnal desire. “I promise I will be, I’ll tell you when I decide to actually go inside… For right now, I’m just going to make sure you’re able to feel as little pain as possible. Besides, doesn’t it feel really good? Try to relax…” He took his words to heart and really attempted to let his muscles release all tension inside of them, but it was difficult. His mind kept racing to a million things, that was until he felt Amon’s tongue once again.

All angels are intersex, as such the opening that Amon’s tongue went into was his equivalent of the vaginal canal. For a split second, Lucifer’s body tensed to the point that he almost seemed to desire to jump up. Amon recognized this and tightened his hold on his thighs, keeping them both open and grounded. If the angel didn’t like anything he was doing, he knew he’d tell him to stop. All the same in a moment or two Satan began to relax and settle down. Melodic and rhythmic moans began to escape his lips.

All the tension in his body seemed to melt away as the lengthy tongue of the demon plunged deeper and deeper inside of him. Any anxiety he had was being burned away by the beating flames of arousal. Tears flooded his eyelids, not from pain, but just pure pleasure and joy. All while this was happening, Lucifer couldn’t help but wonder how Amon was feeling. Was he anxious? Scared? Was he feeling the same amount of joy and bliss that he was? He felt selfish taking it all like this and not doing anything in return.

When Amon finally pulled away, a sigh of relief left the angel, he hadn’t reached climax, but somehow he felt a blend of satisfaction and a longing for more. “There’s only one thing left to do to make sure this doesn’t hurt for you.” Lucifer sat up, finding himself shocked at what he saw. Nobody wore clothes in this world, and yet the angel has never once seen Amon’s genitalia. Not even once. To be quite frank that plating upon his hips, most likely there to protect him from debilitating blows, hid it most of the time.

How it worked became quite easy to discern. Almost every demon has a way to increase their reproductive success, like many animals. Some demons had something akin to a knot, other demons had oddly shaped penises, some demons used swelling, Amon however, true to the rest of his body, had plating. Now it was smooth, but judging by the scales along the top, it’s obvious that it is designed to rise in order to keep himself from slipping out of his mate during sex. It terrified Lucifer to a degree, and yet at the same time with how he was feeling, so swollen, hot, and sticky, he couldn’t help but find even more arousal in it. But that begged the question.

Innocently, Lucifer cocked his head, cheeks stained a pretty pink which only accentuated the glow of his angelic form. “Wh-What do you want me to do?” A smirk as Amon took his face into his claws. “You know how I used my tongue to make you all wet?” The angel nodded. “Well, the wetter we both are, the easier it’ll be for me to go inside. I’m much larger than you, and judging by how hard it was to get my tongue inside, you’re rather tight. As to be expected. I want you to use your tongue on me… Besides, I’m sure you’d look adorable doing such.” The thought would have otherwise sounded appalling, if not for the fact that they both were driven practically crazy by arousal. Nevertheless, this could be Lucifer’s chance to make Amon feel the same sensation he did, or at least to a feeling that was close! Something that he was more than willing to do.

Amon stayed up on his knees as Lucifer rolled onto all fours and crawled over. “Satan, just know that if anything is too much, you can say so… You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.” A reminder, Satan knew, but he didn’t care. He simply smiled up at the demon and responded with a, “I know.” before leaning down.

There was no question, Amon was rather large in size, his member he was sure would be way too big to fit into his mouth entirely, especially with that plating. “Be careful with those plates, please~!” He joked with a wink, happy to get a chuckle out of the older. In the end they were just as close friends as they were lovers. Lucifer’s tiny pink tongue was a stark contrast against the dark plating and flesh of his swollen penis, something that Amon noticed immediately and found to be rather adorable.

His fingers ran through the younger’s hair, praising him as he continued to lick and suck upon his flesh. He didn’t expect the angel to try anything too drastic, but the lack of moaning and obvious response seemed to peeve Lucifer just a bit. That’s why, when the angel managed to take the entire length into his mouth, not only did he nearly tense up, almost causing the plating to rise in reaction, but he also let out such a loud drawn out moan that the only thing keeping Lucifer from smiling was his current occupying task.

The trick, Satan found, was to rock his head back and forth and not wait too long. If he falls out of his rhythm than he most certainly will gag. Back and forth, up and down, over and over again to the beat of his pounding heart. “Lucifer…” Amon moaned out, a growl underneath of it. That didn’t slow him however, he heard those heated moans. His mind was drunk off of them, desiring to hear the next sound of pleasure. “Lucifer.” He growled again. “Lucifer!” The younger didn’t stop however, a mistake he’d come to regret. Just as the older’s penis was being inserted deeper into his throat he felt the others body surge. His plating rose up just a bit scraping against the roof of his mouth.

A foul tasting white substance filled his mouth and throat and Lucifer found himself pulling away, coughing and sputtering as both the white and blood came out. That would definitely swell in the morning. “I meant to tell you that I couldn’t hold out much longer, I was going to pull your head away, but you started going faster and faster.” Amon began, his tone nearing a scold, he made a move to check the damage when he was shocked to see the angel grinning.

That pink tongue slipped around his lips and he swallowed greedily whatever he had collected. “I’ll keep that in mind for next time, but I must say, that was rather fun~!” Amon’s face darkened, a shade which would normally be considered a blush, before he was atop of Lucifer again. A giggle from the angel as he wrapped his legs around the demon, kissing him all over. “Are you still wet?” He asked, reaching his fingers to that entrance, finding that his work had not been undone. “Yep! Nothing’s changed on my end…”

There was a moment of contemplative silence as the two of them rested in the grass. A breeze brushed past them punctuated by Lucifer’s radiant smile. “Ready whenever you are…” He whispered, reassurance to Amon who seemed more frightened than him now. Satan knew why, he was scared to hurt him. An understandable fear. But what was the point of pleasure if there was no pain to go with it? This was something he understood now. Something he now found to be part of his soon-to-be addiction.

Amon positioned himself of Lucifer’s entrance, before beginning to slowly push his hips against the younger’s. Tight was an understatement. Suffocating was a bit better. It seemed the angel felt the same way as he cried out and cringed. “Ow…” He whimpered, panting heavily. “Tell me if you want me to stop, okay?” The demon asked, looking down at his soon-to-be mate. The angel nodded, closing his eyes tight, tears beginning to collect for the second time in his lashes.

Amon pushed further and further into his body, Lucifer let out cry after cry. The pattern went as follows: insert a half inch, stop, wait for a second, then insert another half inch or so, rinse and repeat. Eventually, with a bit of patience, he managed to get his entire length inside. Once that was accomplished, and a comfortable position was achieved, he began to rock his hips. At first there were cries of protest and pain from the angel, but no word to stop. It was painful, but pleasurable, that’s what the takeaway so far was. As time went on however, and Amon grew more confident, Lucifer’s entire body began to melt into the movements.

Moans escaped him, heavy breaths which left his lungs in heaves, as Amon began to go faster and faster. Soon enough the angel was practically howling, rocking his hips against the pounding of the prince of Terra. Tears trailed down his cheeks in thick streams. His brain was reeling as he felt the pressure beginning to build behind his own penis. His breasts swelling and his walls tightening. Every muscle in his body was growing taught in all the right ways.

He didn’t even notice the blood that was beginning to trickle from his opening and around Amon as his hymen was torn clean through. It became obvious, however, from how long they were just sitting in this position, that they needed something more extreme to reach the eventual climax that they both craved. Claws dug into Lucifer’s body, making him cry out even louder, before his petite hips were raised up.

He shrieked as he felt the older hit each sensitive spot inside of him, those plates rising to prevent him from slipping out of his slickened partner. Pound after pound, thrust after thrust, each one more powerful than the last. “Amon!” This wouldn’t be the first time Lucifer called out his name, but it would be the first time he had something to say alongside of it.

“I-I won’t be able to hold out much longer!” He squeaked out timidly, hid body had since become a sweaty and twitching mess, still beautiful but also succumbing to the carnal affects that sex brings. “Understood, my mate…” And on that note Amon leaned forward, pinning Lucifer to the ground in a sort of curled fetal position, his hips raised. In this position the elusive ‘g-spot’ was easily being hit, and with that Lucifer’s cries escalated until it became obvious his voice would grow hoarse.

Like a dam wall breaking, all pressure in the two of them released. Amon let out a sharp moan, Lucifer a shrill scream. White fluid, semen, poured into his body as even more coated both of their stomachs. With a soft ‘pop’ sound, the demon withdrew before allowing himself to collapse beside him. They lay there for a while, dazed, and recovering. A thick tremble was in the tiny angel’s body.

Amon wrapped his arms around the younger, nuzzling against him, hoping to soothe any pain he had. “How did that feel?” He inquired after a moment or two, a soft gentle phrase, one that he knew would have a wonderful payout. “Absolutely amazing…” The reply came, the sound of Lucifer’s voice already showed how exhausted he was and how his voice was growing hoarser and hoarser by the second. All due to the screaming and crying. And yet despite that, his expression told it all.

He was the happiest angel in the entire universe.

“Did you feel any pain?” Amon asked, pulling Satan close to him. “Of course I did… But that’s alright, because I really did enjoy it.” Somehow he felt as though he was missing something for all of his life. As though he had only found a part of him that had been sleeping all this time and couldn’t be happier to have it back. A craving awoke in that moment, on that day, a craving that would make these types of interactions daily. They were mates after all, intimately tied in a way no other could be.

“Well I hope every time we do it in the future can be just as good…” After a moment, Amon lifted Satan’s head to look at him. “Say ah.” He instructed. “Ah~” Lucifer responded, opening his mouth wide. He felt the demon’s finger tip run over the roof of his mouth and the soft surface of his tongue, before pulling away. “The wound in your mouth is already starting to heal…” The memory of what happened earlier struck the angel and he sheepishly smiled to the demon. “I’m sorry about that… I hadn’t meant to--”

Amon cut him off with a gentle cooing ‘shhh’. “You did perfect, honestly, I wouldn’t have preferred it any other way. So long as you’re happy and satisfied, than so am I.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All demons have sexual benefits that provide them advantages over their partner in sex. Amon's is a plating system that allows him to stay inside of his partner, regardless of their activity. He can raise and lower these scale like additions at will-- however this can also be dangerous if he gets startled or suddenly tensed during intercourse. The plates spike up the highest when he's in orgasm.


	15. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The largest pre-war battle between demons and angels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Demons are not bound by morals, as such they do not believe in crimes and violations of basic right. Their world does not allow for that. As such things such as murder, thievery, and so on so forth is not necessarily considered wrong. They have a 'society' structured off of the concept of 'the weak die and the strong survive'. They didn't know what love was until Lucifer appeared.

The date was the 24th of Terra, in the year of 10702. Lucifer was 32 years old, appearing with the physical age of an 18-year-old human. His body would only go through a few more developmental changes throughout the rest of his lifespan, but for the most part he had reached his peak maturity, and as such would not be changing any further. This day would have been considered mostly insignificant if not for the conflict that arose late into the evening. The tensions between Heaven and Earth were beginning to bubble up higher and higher, and by this point the breaking point was just about to be reached.

Demons had lined up in an organized fashion behind their king and queen along the shore line watching as the angels descended over the oceans. Their feet mere inches from the cresting waves which held so much life. Lucifer and Amon stood side by side, the respective Queen and King of Earth. Their mating has since been accepted widely by demon kind, the scent of each other lingering upon their respective partner and making a sweet and spicy blend which informed the rest of demon-kind of their union.

There was going to be a fight, it was obvious. A few days ago, Uriel had slipped away from Heaven to inform Lucifer of the coming attack. He wanted to give him time to prepare, and warned him against starting a war. The fallen angel still didn’t wish to deal with conflict, if he could choose peace he would, but Michael was a man of war. As such he knew for a fact that wouldn’t be possible.

The demons which stood behind him and Amon were growling and hissing as the multitude of angels descended from the sky. Their weapons drawn, their bodies decorated with armor. The cacophony of sound from the fully formed demon army was almost too much to bare.

Lucifer raised his arm and, in unison, the demon generals did the same. Zenon, Sirene, Jenny, and Amon all raised the same arm in an order of silence among the army. Not a peep was made, for the Queen of Terra and ruler of Demonkind wished to speak. “These angels will be ferocious, they believe we are nothing more than scum crawling upon our beautiful planet!” He shouted, his wings rising up in a tense position, feathers puffing out making him look altogether larger. Sirene, Zenon, and Amon set their wings to mimic this same position despite their varying sizes.

“We will show them once and for all, we are a force to be trifled with! That they should not have descended from Heaven to conflict with us! This is our planet and we will stay here regardless of if they desire it or not!” Lucifer’s voice was a booming command which sparked a sense of empowerment in the demon army. To say they weren’t somewhat terrified would be a lie, in fact everyone who stood on the sandy banks were most likely scared out of their minds. Those that were deeper inland, caring for the babies of their species, were even more frightened. Unable to know what was going on but able to hear the Great Demon Lord command his army.

“Angels are powerful creatures, our Lord Satan was once one of them! To kill them aim for their wings. Their weapons are mostly short ranged, so for those of you who are capable of using longer-ranged attacks, strike first. They are wearing heavy armor so attempt to move faster than them and strike in places where the skin is exposed. Do not waste time on the armor if you don’t have to!” Amon’s words were a welcome contribution to the fight, the angel looked over to him and smiled. 

“Remember my children--” Lucifer began again, his arm falling to his side, causing the generals to follow. “Regardless of whether we win or lose this fight, I will always love each and every one of you until the bitter end.”

Love… Demons didn’t know what love was until Lucifer came to them and introduced the concept. Their cruel ways were not ebbed away by the concept but merely enhanced. The idea of love was more to bond them together in times of trial, such as this battle, as opposed to change their behavior altogether. There will be no reform for the nature of demons. Demons will continue to kill each other, merge with each other, and find joy in battle and conflict… But not because they cannot love, or are incapable of it, but because of the fact that’s what’s needed to survive in a world like this.

Lucifer was their uniting entity, and as such whatever hatred they had for each other was muted by the love he held for them instead. In the end the concept of hatred was nonexistent in this world. Just like, once upon a time, they didn’t understand what love was, they now no longer understand what hatred is. As such when they kill another of their kind it’s not seen as murder or as hate or spite, it’s seen as necessity to survive in a world such as this. A human of the modern day most likely finds this concept confusing, that murder is not associated with hate, but that’s just the thing.

These are not humans that Lucifer has grown to love. These are entities so much more than that. Not riddled by the complex moral bindings of mankind. Death isn’t seen as this all-ending event, as such there is hardly any mourning for those who die unless it be a baby or a child who had little to live, or parents who just had yet to see their child grow older. These are who you grieve, anyone else would not be mourned.

But love… they felt love more than anything in these final years of Earth. Standing upon the shore as the waves battered the sand, the demons looked to their King and Queen and felt nothing but undying love for them. In the end, what would they be without the angel that chose them over his own. Especially now, watching as Lucifer took Amon’s hand in his own and they shared a loving kiss… It became obvious the care they all held.

The angels struck first, they made the initial charge. Their wings carrying them at a speed that was rather fast, but not fast enough. Many demons took to the sky, those that couldn’t remained on the sand, however many plunged into the water ready to snatch the lower flying angels out of the sky. At first it was the angels that began to fall, but soon enough demons began to be taken by the beings of Heaven.

Soon the ocean was stained black and yellow from the losses. Hundreds of angels fell to the claws of demons, and just the same many demons fell to the sword of angels. Lucifer, as to be expected, found Michael in the crowd and once more found himself fighting with him. Amon found Gabriel, and was making quick work against him.

The losses were immense, but in the end, it became obvious. There were just too many demons here. Too many for any amount of angels to fight on their own. Michael broke away from his fight with Lucifer. In the end he hated the seraphim, but the fact of the matter was that he was a good general. He knew when it was time to retreat. “Retreat! Back to Heaven!” He cried out to the many wounded angels which were still trying to slaughter the demons over the waves.

“One day Lucifer, you will forsake these demons with all your heart and you will wish and crave the return to Heaven, but you’ll never get it.” Michael warned him, to which the fallen angel merely smiled. He was hurting, both of them were, but that didn’t matter. “My name’s not Lucifer anymore… I am the Great Demon Lord Satan, Queen of Earth and mate to the Champion Amon. Nothing will change that fact. Heaven be damned.” The appalled expression of Michael brought joy to him, but he didn’t say that.

The angels retreated, going to report back to the higher ups in Heaven no doubt. Lucifer watched as they went, before he felt dizzy. He was wounded fairly bad once more, but that didn’t matter, because they won.

His wings gave out, but before he could fall into the waves, he felt arms wrap around him. At first he thought it was Amon, but was pleased to find that he was wrong… Amon was a distance away and no doubt wouldn’t have been able to catch him. Instead it was Sirene who had taken up the mantle. She happily cradled the angel in her arms, her body unmarred save for a few knicks and scratches.

When Amon had finally come over, his large wings flapping much more audibly than her smaller ones, she happily handed the seraphim over. “Your mate, my king.” The harpy spoke, her smile accentuated by her fangs. They returned to the shore together, many of the demons were worried about Lucifer until he finally declared, as loud as he could, “We were victorious! Rejoice!”

And with that, demonkind celebrated their first victory over Heaven’s army.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angels have many advanced weapons and tactics for this period of time in Earth's history. However, the issue with this, is that demons are savages and as such they are destined for battle. They do not need training. As such angels, who are less in numbers, have a severe disadvantage.


	16. Irea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer finds out he's an Irea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder: Angels are intersex, they have one gender among their species. As such any angel can be both mother or father. Demons are different however, while some are intersex, the higher ranking ones tend to be one singular gender. Amon is a male through and through. It is unknown whether a demon and an angel can reproduce.

The communal cave for demonkind was not a normal sleeping place for Amon and Lucifer. Save, that is, for one week that came about every thirty days. The angel woke up early that morning, as he has been doing for quite some time, and crawled out of the cavern so as to not disturb the sleeping demons inside. His body jerked and tensed as the contents of his stomach were spilled out before him. So many days now has he gotten up and fallen to this mysterious ailment that only took him in the morning. Each and every day it happened he grew more and more concerned.

Reaching down in between his legs, his fingers found his vaginal canal and dipped inside. He felt no pleasure when he did so, not like how he felt when Amon would go inside such an opening, now all he feels is anxiety. When he pulled his fingers away they were dry as the sand in the desert. He was hoping to see black blood, but there was nothing.

Every month, it's become a tradition for mates or solo females of demonkind to come to the communal cave. The objective is to synchronize menstruation cycles among themselves. There are a few reasons for this, one is so that females can get the proper care they need as their bodies are basically ripping themselves apart from the inside out, another is so that they can find out as a group who is pregnant and who isn’t.

Lucifer was the one all demons looked to for this guidance. If he started bleeding, than the rest of them knew they’d begin shortly. They were five days into this tradition and not a drop of blood was had from the angel.  _ ‘But that’s impossible…’ _ He thought to himself.  _ ‘The only person I’ve been having sex with is Amon… A demon and an angel can’t mate… Can they?’  _ The question felt stupid. Why would they be able to mate and produce offspring? But then again… who knew? 

They were the first demon-angel couple to ever exist as far as they knew. And besides he couldn’t let himself get pregnant now! They were in the middle of a war! A war that started a good three-hundred years ago, but a war nonetheless! He re-entered the cave only to find that many of the demons had woken from their deep slumbers when he left.

Their eyes were trained on him, and upon seeing that no blood was dripping down his legs, they all looked to him curiously. “You still haven’t started?” Sirene inquired softly, rising to her feet. She was going to head to the springs as she always did to clean out the clumps of blood hidden within her white plumage. Lucifer shook his head causing the demon bird’s face to show concern. “Maybe you’re pregnant.” Jenny suggested suddenly, only causing the fear inside the angel to grow.

“But he’s not a demon, how can he possibly be pregnant. He’s mated to Amon.” Another demon chided, but it did nothing to soothe him. “Could it be possible an angel took him?” Another chante. Amon silenced this immediately before the angel even had the opportunity. What a ludicrous thought! “Not a chance, I have marked him effectively, if there is any break in my scent than I’d know. He has not been touched by anyone but myself.” The king of Terra reassured, rising to his knees and taking Satan’s petite hands, guiding him down to the ground to sit in his lap.

“In the end there is only one way to know whether or not he is in fact carrying a child.” Jenny spoke up suddenly, everyone knew what she was going to say. It was an old practice, one used in many animals of this age, and one that even humans would use when they came to lay claim to the Earth. An examination of his urine. They lived in a time where medicine was not advanced, but the nose of a demon is far more powerful than that of a dog, they’d be able to smell it without a shadow of a doubt. The nose of an angel is just as powerful, but Lucifer is blind to his own scents in every way.

“If he is in fact pregnant, then Amon, being familiar with the average scents he gives off in all ways, should be able to tell. Is that not correct?” The idea made sense, but Satan didn’t want to go through with it, for a multitude of reasons. One being that he just didn’t want to be pregnant. He didn’t want to risk carrying a baby during such an unfortunate time. Another being that if it was false, then it meant nature had sought him out to be the next sufferer of some terrible ailments within his unused uterus. Something that many demons have suffered from and will continue to suffer from. but at the same time he knew that they had to know for sure, regardless of the consequences. 

A shell was presented to him, something similar to what would be a modern day coconut shell. It had been cleaned out and ‘sterilized’ to the best of their ability. Needless to say there was no scent tied to the shell any longer. Even so, Amon gave it a nice smell in order to grow fond of whatever scent is present before. The intermingling of the smells could cause confusion if he doesn’t know what to exclude. For a while Satan sat in Amon’s lap, just staring at the shell. This whole situation felt surreal in a way. This couldn’t have been real. He would wake up-- he just knew it. He would wake up and this would all just be a bad dream. He’d wake up with blood between his legs and a collective sigh of relief. He leaned against Amon and found himself shocked that the other seemed so unnaturally calm. Was he not concerned? Lucifer couldn’t be more wrong.

His partner was very concerned, but not at the concept of a pregnancy. Instead he was more concerned over whatever illness could have taken him. But all the same, Amon was excited at the concept of perhaps being a father. They both had come to terms with the idea that an angel and a demon could not produce viable offspring, as such they didn’t worry too much as they engaged in their activities night after night after night-- save for those nights where blood was pouring from the angel’s insides.

Could that excited and loving interaction be the reason that Lucifer is carrying now? ‘Don’t be stupid, Lucifer!’ He chided himself in his head. ‘Maybe you’re just really really late! It happens! It doesn’t mean you’re pregnant, and it doesn’t mean you’re sick. Get a handle on yourself!’ Taking a deep breath, Satan excused himself to do his business, relieving himself into the shell out of sight and view of the other demons. Hidden by the underbrush and the flow of nature. He contemplated for a while, holding the foul scented and colored fluid in the shell.

How disgusting it was, and then asking Amon to smell it. How strange this all was. But he supposed the detection methods of Heaven were far away from them now. Lucifer couldn’t help but ponder what had gotten himself here. He reached down between his legs and checked again. Nothing. No cramps. No mood changes. No faint tingling annoyance in his tummy. Nothing but neutrality and the fading morning sickness he had experienced. A faint craving of fish on his tongue. He sat there for a moment, willing up his strength to return and burying any chance of tears coming to his eyes. He wouldn’t let demon kind see how scared he was, how terrified he was. In the end if he had to be an Irea in this time, than that was the end of it. He would have to try his best.

Returning to the communal cave, immediately everyone seemed to react to the smell. It was potent to them and rather obvious. However they wouldn’t know until his mate took the shell and tried it himself. Amon let himself smell the fluid before taking the cup and dumping it outside in the underbrush, all the while the demons went mad all about him. Murmuring, hissing, talking about themselves. Soon enough their voices became louder cacophony as they awaited the king’s return. Their crazed hoots and howls were enough to send anxiety coursing through him. 

When his mate finally returned, he took the angel into an embrace. Fear filled every cell in Satan’s body, a tremble rushing through him. Amon could feel it, squeezing the younger tightly to his body in a form of reassurance, before he finally announced to the crowd the results of the scent test. “There will be a prince of Terra. We will be having a child very soon!”

‘ _ No! This is just a bad dream! This isn’t happening! I’m not pregnant! I can’t be pregnant! _ ’ His brain was reeling as he felt his knees giving out beneath him. His entire entity going into a state of catatonia. The demons swarmed about him and Amon, concern in their voices, he heard Amon calling out to him but he couldn’t hear it. All he could hear was his heart pounding in his ears and the voice which screamed in his head. ‘ _ I’m not ready to be an Irea! I don’t want to be an Irea! God if you can hear me, take it away! Take it away from me please! If you give me nothing, give me this saving grace! Give me the strength to lead this army or just take this child from me! _ ’

If it weren’t for the fact that he was in a war, Lucifer would have had a completely different reaction. But they were in a time of violence. Battles between Heaven and Terra were common-- so common in fact that nobody had enough time to heal. Finding Michael on the battlefield was like finding a tumor in a body. He always looked worse and worse, more and more sickly and wounded, the pains from the previous battle having not been healed completely. But Michael is prideful, he would never allow himself to be discharged until death. Even then, who is stopping him from haunting the battle field.

His entire world began to be engulfed in darkness, he felt the tears fall from his eyes burning his face like hell fire. His entire body shaking almost as though he were in some massive earthquake. What was he going to do? How was he going to handle this? An angel is frail… A miscarriage is likely and yet, already he was warming up to the idea despite his fear.

“Luci…” A voice, gentle and coaxing, he opened his eyes to find that he wasn’t where he was before. “I know I’m not supposed to be talking to you Luci, but… I just couldn’t help myself.” He recognized the voice immediately, the figure taking shape before him like a rippling reflection in water. “Tabris!?” He gasped, unsure of what to say or do. “Wh-Where are we? Where’s everyone else?” The gentle sound of lapping waves caught his attention and upon looking around they were in fact standing upon water. Not just standing upon it however, it turned to glass almost beneath their toes before continuing about them, rippling and lapping about as ocean water does.

The ‘sky’ looked almost like something out of a pastel painting, with many colors fading into each other, beautiful and faded. Yet there was no sun, and there was no moon, just the fading colors which seemed to glow upon their own. “This is the mindscape. You remember Uriel talking about it right?” Tabris began to explain, to which Lucifer simply nodded. “I don’t have much time to talk to you, Uriel doesn’t know I’m using this and Michael is planning another attack… I don’t agree with what he’s doing, but he’s my Irea, so I can’t really go against him.”

The words felt hollow, but at the same time all too true. He knew Tabris, and how passive he actually was as a personality, he was the type that wouldn’t want to fight but be incapable of having any say in the matter. “Congratulations on becoming an Irea, Luci. I’m sad that we couldn’t work out, but I’ve been watching you from Heaven whenever I get the chance and the fact you seem so happy it… it really brings me joy.” That’s right, he just found out he was pregnant didn’t he. Instinctively Lucifer’s pale hands found his stomach, the knowledge that there was now a life growing inside of him was both invigorating and terrifying. A horrifying concept. “Thank you, Tabris… That does mean a lot…” He muttered quietly, his gaze downcast.

“C’mon Luci! Why are you so scared? You should be excited! Overjoyed! You’re going to have a baby!” Tabris chimed excitedly, putting his hand on the younger’s shoulder in a gesture of reassurance. “Because to be honest with you, Tabris, I’m horrified. The mortality rate for an angel giving birth is so high, and I doubt this baby is even viable because it’s half demon and half angel. Never mind how much it’ll hurt and also the fact I have to lead an army. I can’t just leave the fight, the demons are counting on me!” Tears cluttered his eyes without his knowledge and flowed forth, they turned to crystals as they fell from his face and hit the ‘water’. 

“You always were the anxious type… You got scared over everything that went wrong. I promise everything will be fine… Besides you have friends in Heaven, not everyone up there is against you.” Tabris’ words struck him, it was like some big reveal that was staring him in the face. “How do you know that?” Satan asked curiously, shock evident in his eyes. “Are you really asking that question, Luu! You should know by now that I’m rooting for you and your demon companion, I don’t know his name but he seems to really love and cherish you. That is all I could hope for. But I’m not the only one to be rooting for you either!” He gestured his arm in a wide spread. Hundreds of angels appeared, all of them mere silhouettes upon the water, all standing behind the archangel. Little did they know that most of these angels would either die or fall from Heaven and make up the fallen angels. They were oblivious to the consequences.

“We all sympathize with you Luu. Don’t you see, no matter what happens, you will always be our Seraphim. Nothing will ever change that! Now get out there and you lead those demons! Go and make Terra your kingdom! Show Michael who he’s messing with! And if you need us just give us a call. We love you, Lucifer.” Like a rippling currant the specters began to vanish. “Wait! Tabris, don’t go! I need you!” 

Somehow, it felt like part of him was being pulled away from him, like something was leaving him. Tabris was his best friend, and he hadn’t realized how much he had missed him until now. Darkness began to embrace him again, and he found himself floating in a void, his soul returning to his body.

A gasp as he awoke, sitting upright violently, only to find that he was in his home cave once more. Amon’s hold startled him, the voice that came soothed him almost instantaneously. “Satan… Are you okay…?” The demon didn’t expect the angel to turn around and embrace him like he did. He didn’t expect him to start sobbing against him. He didn’t expect the angel to just cry and cry like a baby. But regardless of if he expected it or not, he wouldn’t turn him away. He loved Lucifer, and as such would do anything to soothe his worries and fears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The skill Tabris uses is a form of astral projection. He projected himself and many other angels into Lucifer's dream. As soon as he found an opening he used it to begin speaking with him. It is a common tactic for angels who are in war, in order to keep enemy forces from receiving their 'transmissions'. The more angels involved, however, the more unstable the transmission is and the more likely someone who isn't supposed to hear it will pick it up.


	17. Abduction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer is taken back to Heaven and tortured for information, as the war captive he has become. In doing so he looses the most important thing to him...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter contains topics such as abduction, miscarriage, public execution, and funerals. If that's an issue for you than feel free to skip the chapter. However I will not spoil the events of the chapter as they are integral to the story -- however they will be reminded of in the beginning of the next chapter.

Blood… There was so much blood… Black oozing blood which coated his entire body. Why did it have to come to this? His precious Lucius, his darling son, the beautiful angel-demon hybrid which was growing inside of him. He cradled the baby in his arms, pressing him to his breasts which had yet to swell from the need to breastfeed, the need to tend to the child. Sadly, they never will… 

The baby was dead.

Nobody but the demons knew of the child growing in his belly. The baby he once carried within him. No angel was informed, no temporary peace was reached, partially because of what had happened here. Lucifer was terrified at first when he found out that he was pregnant, that he was to become an Irea. Who wouldn’t be? Especially during an era where medical attention was nearly nonexistent and the only thing he had were the demons by his side. Eventually, however, with Amon’s growing excitement, as well as everyone else’s enthusiasm, he couldn’t help himself from growing joyous as well.

But that didn’t mean he could stop leading the demon army. He was going to lead the demon army until the end of the first quarter-- as the pregnancy of an Irea is split into four quarters as opposed to three trimesters, as to accompany the slower development as well as the more complex process. After all, he couldn’t just forsake his children to fight upon the battlefield without him. At the same time however, they were concerned, and rightfully so, that the strain he was putting on himself, and the harm he was putting himself in, could prove to be detrimental to the fetus growing inside of him. 

They were correct to assume that, but not for the right reasons… The situation had unfolded in a much worse way.

The last battle he fought in would’ve been a success, had the arrow that had been shot into his hip wing not been coated in some sort of sedative. He plummeted to the ground, only to be taken up by thrones. These angels were notorious for their speed, so when they took off, it was no wonder that Amon nor Sirene, the two fastest airborne demons they had, couldn’t catch them and retrieve their precious Queen.

Lucifer could remember the intrusive medical examinations, all while he was half lucid. He could recall as they tried to find out why he was acting ‘savagely’. There had to be a medical issue as to why he rebelled as he had. Afterall he had everything he could ever want. That’s when the most terrifying words fell from Michael’s lips.

** _“There’s a parasite in his womb.”_ **

Never have words struck him so hard before. That’s when the torture started. The amount of pain he endured, just to try and get him to tell them secrets of the demon army, was immense. His beautiful body was marred in ways that some wouldn’t even be able to comprehend. Acid poured upon his ankle, eating away at the wing that hung there. His wings being tied up by the thorny brambles of Earthen trees, just so that the ropes would cut into his flesh. Whips were used upon his back so much so that it broke into the skin and exposed his black insides… Tinted so by his own blood, sometimes bones were exposed.

It was only a matter of time before the pain started.

He began to birth the child prematurely in the middle of the night, his screams left unheard in the darkness. Unable to stand, unable to bang upon the doors, and not even desiring help. He believed that death was better suited for him-- there was no way his baby would survive and in the end, who's to say he would too. In these moments he couldn’t help but think of the demons on Earth. Whether they missed him or not, whether Amon had moved on from him… Whether they marked him for dead.

Lucifer hugged the child to his breasts, continuing to cradle it like a mother. Shushing and cooing as though the infant was crying… It wasn’t crying. It wasn’t even a baby. It was a gnarled fetus, with wings curled up and bent out in many ways. The face didn’t even look like a face, the eyes sealed shut and hideous. Coated in black with the remains showing no true signs of real development. The baby was aborted without his permission and in the end he found that a part of him couldn’t accept it.

What would Amon say?

The doors opened, and Lucifer immediately took his attack stance even though it felt like a sword was piercing his gut. On his hands and feet, teeth bared in a snarl as he was taught among the demons, broken wings puffed up as big as they could go in this state, with that aborted fetus hugged close to his chest. 

“Fuck…” The voice calmed Lucifer down as his mind adjusted to the brightness. He settled a bit, in a corner far away from them, curled around the baby with blood still oozing from between his legs. “Luu...” Tabris murmured, tears stinging his eyes, a hand covering his mouth. A thump as Raphael collapsed to the ground-- the demon lord forgot that the virtue was squeamish and couldn’t stand the sight of blood. “I… knew this would happen… I’m… so sorry, Lucifer…” Uriel’s words rang true, and he knew it.

“You did this… All of you did this… My baby is dead… My baby…” His voice was broken, hoarse from screaming and crying. He never begged however, he never asked for them to stop nor did he ever start pleading. Knowing fully well that’s what they wanted of him. Lucifer didn’t want to blame Uriel and Tabris, but in the end they were part of the problem. At least to a degree.

“Please Luu, you have to understand, we didn’t want your baby to die. We…” He trailed off, unsure anymore of what to say… What more was there to say.

Tears streamed down Lucifer’s face as more and more of this began to hit him. Streaks through the black revealing red and swollen cheeks, burned from the acidic nature of his own blood. He looked down at the baby, a choked sob escaping him. One was all it took. The cracks in the flood gates began, the sobs grew louder and louder until eventually the angel was wailing into the abyss.

“What did I do!? I don’t understand!? I just wanted to leave and none of you would let me!? None of you ever fucking cared about me! You just wanted your ‘prince of Heaven’ back!” He screamed in his rage as more and more tears began to cloud his vision. A burning hatred blossoming as his mind swam widely. He got into the position to pounce, jumping forward at Tabris and Uriel, sharp fingernails and teeth bared.

** _CHNK!_ **

The steel chains and brace which held him to the wall in the chamber dug into his flesh, pulling him back aggressively and onto the floor. He lay there, helpless, sprawled out. Eventually he curled in on himself, holding tightly onto the baby he had miscarried. If God truly did love him, than why did this happen.

“Look, Luci, we know we did horrendous things to you… We know we didn’t stop Michael’s ploy to get the ‘parasite’ out of you. We know this and we apologize. But we are going to make it better starting now. We are going to set you free and I’m going to bring you back to Earth.” Uriel explained, however Lucifer never lifted his head. He would never let false hope take control.

But real hope was easy to relinquish to.

When Tabris came over and shattered the bonds that held him there, he stared for a moment, unsure of what to do. On the one hand, he was free, but on the other hand they could just be looking for an excuse to take something valuable away from him. 

When Tabris grabbed hold of him and lifted him up in his arms, he knew that this wasn’t going to be a simple ploy. Lucifer growled at his childhood friend, holding the baby closer to him, his face being caked in tar like blood only adding to the wild, beastly appearance he had. “Don’t worry Luu… We aren’t going to take your baby… We are just going to take you home.” And on that note they were off.

Ducking and weaving, jumping about the angel compound. It wasn’t long before Michael found out what was happening, but by that point Lucifer was already in death’s carriage. He rode along, cradling his baby, with Azrael sitting across from him. She took his hand, held it, and then smiled at him. “Everything will be okay… we promise… We absolutely guarantee it…” Azrael whispered.

She lifted her other hand to her cheek, cupping it and pressing her forehead to his own. He didn’t deserve this… She had acknowledged that. He didn’t deserve to be forsaken like this all because he wanted to go somewhere else. Michael was wrong, but all the same, who is to have the right to say such a thing. “I promise you…” Death began again, her voice gentle and kind, as she pulled away. “Your baby, Lucius, he’ll come back to you. I will make sure he comes back to you… Uriel has told me that in the timeline that this baby survived, you would’ve made a wonderful Irea. To rob you of that would be horrendous…” She lowered her head, realizing that it was their inaction that caused this mess in the first place… They should’ve done something. 

Lucifer didn’t say anything. He looked down at Lucius in his arms, beginning to kiss the malformed baby all over, not minding the blood that continued to stain his face. All the while he felt so hollow.

The world was covered in storms when they arrived. As the carriage came to a halt on the earth, demons were already awaiting their arrival.

Uriel and Azrael, the only angels to be able to successfully make an alliance with demons other than Lucifer themselves. In the end they were all on the same side. The side of survival. Amon was waiting among the crowd, waiting eagerly for the promise given to him. When the seraphim stepped out, his condition so frightening and horrible that it made all the beasts shrink back, it was no surprise that Amon ran up to him and embraced him.

The pain grew to be too much for the angel, when he was taken by Amon his legs gave way from beneath him and he crumpled to the ground. For the first time Lucifer wailed in front of the demons. He screamed and shouted, like a banshee. Uriel and Azrael flinched where they stood, allowing themselves to be drenched by the pouring rain. As the water ran down the most beautiful angel it revealed just how hurt he was.

Acid burns, gashes, cuts, claw marks, frostbite, so on and so forth. Nothing so extreme that he would never recover, but all the same he’d be out of commission for quite a while. There was no sound but his wails and the rain, the wails of an agonized Irea. Amon hated to see the gnarled corpse, but all the same he was there for his mate. As such he held Lucifer close to him anyways, tears manifesting on his own face.

It was the only time that Amon ever truly cried. Soft sobs, hardly audible, escaped him as he held onto his weeping mate. While many individuals would walk away from their ‘love’ after something like this happens, it only strengthened the demon’s resolve. He would not let Heaven get away with this. “You are dismissed… Thank you for bringing him back to us…” Sirene spoke, her tone somewhat sharp but all the same hospitaple as she spoke to Uriel and Azrael. She flinched at the pain in their eyes, but they simply nodded and obeyed their command-- mounting and climbing inside the carriage to depart.

The holy beasts, pegasus, stomped on the ground as they were forced to take off, but in the end they followed their instructions.

It took a while, but Lucifer eventually calmed himself enough to allow for Amon to carry him. They needed to bury the body of their baby… They needed to make sure that their son was put to rest. As such they went to the bone graveyard for which was created after Amon’s moon crashed down to the Earth. Many of the bones were now buried beneath the sand but one skeleton remained above ground.

Aotz’s mummified remains encased her beauty even to this day. Lucifer never would’ve gotten the opportunity to meet Amon’s mother-- his mother by mating… But to say he felt love for her would be an understatement. A part of him, after Amon had planted the thought, believed that the titan was watching over them from beyond the dead. They’ve had more than their fair share of encounters which supported this.

Lucifer settled the body of Lucius against the carcass of Aotz. He took her arms and positioned her as though she was holding him. The thought was that neither of them would be alone. That from now on Aotz would always have a child to hold, and Lucius would always have a mother of sorts to hold him. They upturned the soil with the help of larger demons like Zenon, before Amon lowered the corpse into the grave. Soon after they buried her beneath the sand, allowing for her form to be locked within the earth she once ruled.

In that moment both Amon and Lucifer came to terms with something they had lost… Something dear that they felt they could never part with. Lucifer sat beside the grave for a while, remaining even after the large stone was placed to mark the location of said grave. He curled up atop the soil, feeling the faint bump that was now there… The displacement. Amon joined him, curling up around him almost like a cat and unfurling his wings to shield him from the rain.

It didn’t take long for many other demons to do similar things, beginning with the beautiful siren, Sirene.

She knelt down by the demon lord, someone whom she considered a brother or sister to her, and spread her wings out over him. Jenny joined in, unable to shield Lucifer she instead curled up beside him, providing him a fluffy object to hold close. Even Zenon joined in-- his large arm wings being held over the whole party. By the end of it, the demons which had gathered had formed a group, the creatures which were said to not have any form of love were proved to be just as loving as the angels in the Heavens above.

They just loved very differently.

They were savage, they weren’t cruel, they weren’t terrible. In that moment it showed as they expressed their own grief for the beautiful child they all lost. A child that they all felt love for… A child that they knew was going to be the best thing to happen… 

However just like demons were called savages and were proved to be anything but-- angels have also had a not so true reputation for themselves.

Tabris walked out before his kind, his wings had long since been severed and his arms were tied tightly behind his back to prevent escape. However he was so firm in his belief that he would never go back on what he said… Even now as he was being walked by his own Irea to his execution.

The rope was secured around his neck, and Tabris simply smiled to the crowd. “One day you will see that Michael has been lying to you! One day you will see that all Lucifer desires is to be loved, truly loved by anyone! And instead all you did was spit on him or treat him like he was worth a couple coin!” Those were his final words as Michael walked up to him, looked him in the eye, before giving the signal to drop him.

The leader of the angel army didn’t even flinch as his son was dropped and his neck was snapped. His body immediately went limp as he hung there, dangling, like a macabre ornament of some kind.

“This is what will happen to angels that side with Lucifer! Either death or eternal damnation…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angels are remarkably frail creatures, as such something as small as slight physical strain could lead to something like a miscarriage. Everything before the three month mark of an angel's pregnancy is safe if miscarried, however anything past that point becomes increasingly more and more dangerous for the Irea.


	18. KT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final battle... The end of an era... As angels send Chicxulub, their greatest weapon, to kill off all life, Satan and Amon attempt to accept their fate. Knowing that they've reached the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter in the Mesozoic Arc. The next Arc is called 'The Final Time Loop'. There will be two 'filler chapters' in between the arcs. They will be more side-character focused(this time being Sirene and Jenny). Thank you for reading the first arc of 'Devilman: Eden'. I appreciate your continued support, enjoy the final chapter of the first arc and the following side-chapters.

“I guess this is the end isn’t it…?”

“I suppose it is…”

Amon was fine, his body was built to handle much worse than what had happened to them. However as he looked over to the love of his life, he found that his heart shattered more and more. Lucifer had carried this army in every way he could, and now it was truly beginning to show upon his beautiful physique. Now he was finally slowing down. Heaven’s final attack truly did a number on him… Many of the demons could flee what was going to come to them, Amon included, but nobody would leave their great lord Satan behind. Nobody would leave the mother of demons.

As the rain poured over them, baptizing them in the flow of what would become their death, they refused to leave behind Terra’s surface. If they took to the skies they could potentially survive the event, but nobody wanted to. Not when it was guaranteed that Lucifer would die. Sirene looked over to them from where she perched. Lacerations covering her form. Her rib cage exposed and gushing yellow, her head spinning. If she wanted to her wings could carry her away, but how could she live without Satan?

Jenny was virtually unharmed save for a nasty knife wound to her right thigh. She could teleport as far away as possible, even to another planet if she so chose, but Satan could not stand, and therefore she could not take him with her. Xenon could split into three and disappear deep into the Earth’s core, but Satan could not flap his wings, and therefore any desire to was extinguished. Every demon had their excuse, every demon had their alibi, and every demon was told that they should run away… But nobody did. Nobody wanted to live another day knowing that the Queen of Terra wasn’t going to be part of it.

Amon pulled the mangled body of the angle close to him, his wings wrapping around him to give him some small amount of protection and security. Nobody wanted to die with that unsafe feeling in their gut… But here they had no choice. The battle had wounded the seraphim terribly. With his wings absent now, gore and stubs of bone remaining in their place, there was no way for him to be able to flee the oncoming strike. With his legs mangled, bones stabbing outwards like daggers, he couldn’t rise to his feet to even begin to look for cover. Even the feathers upon his abdomen had been ripped off and replaced with skinned flesh and exposed bone or muscle. Despite the wounds however, Amon still felt that same pull towards him… Covered in blood, the demon champion believed he was the most beautiful thing in the entirety of the universe.

When Lucifer suggested that he run away moments ago, Amon denied it so aggressively that it made his stance quite clear. If he couldn’t live without the fallen angel than he wasn’t going to live at all. Was it not Satan who freed him from his prison? Was it not Satan who slept with him during long, cold, and lonely nights? Was it not Satan that first gave him the warmth of love and accepted it in return? Was it not Satan that stood by him every day and every night, even as the world seemed to hate him? Even now, as he lay dying, the love that he showed for him was unimaginable… Even now Amon feels indebted to him just a little bit more… 

“Thank you… Amon…” Satan spoke weakly, tears appearing in those beautiful eyes… even if only one of them remains. Even if only one oozed actual tears and not a combination of blood and water. “I… do love you… So much…” The angel whispered, wanting to curl up in the demon’s embrace but being unable to. The air was growing hot as the giant rock came crashing through Terra’s atmosphere. Many of the demons began to turn away, the bright light hurting their eyes and heads.

“I love you too… I don’t think I ever could feel anything else towards you but that strange emotion you call love…” How horrible it was that when he is finally starting to understand the concept of love, that something like this occurs. How horrible it was that when they finally recovered from the loss of Lucius and they were finally deciding to try again, now knowing it is possible, that this happens of all things. How horrible it was that just as they felt their lives were coming back to a sense of normalcy, that they were beginning to turn this world truly into a home for them, that Heaven has to cut it short.

“Amon… I don’t want to die… I… I know it’s horrible to tell you something like that when you can’t do anything but… But I really don’t want to die…” A choked weeping escaped Satan’s throat and Amon felt his chest tighten. He felt his own eyes sting as he squeezed tighter onto the angel. He understood, but at the same time he hated it, he hated everything about it. Damn the angels in Heaven, he hoped every single one of them fell from the thrones for which they rest upon, that every single one of them would be punished for what happened to them… But that would never happen.

“I know… I know full well… I don’t want to die either…” Amon sympathized as his own sobs became more audible. He couldn’t hold them down, but by this point Lucifer had heard them so many times. Each tiny whimper, each screeching wail, the angel has heard every single one of them and has soothed him. Now it was his turn to soothe the angel. He could recall many times where Lucifer would guide Amon’s head to rest upon his breast as he wept. He could recall many times where Lucifer would allow for the much larger demon to lay across his lap. He could recall many times where that beautiful angel would brush the tears away and, even if he was suffering just as much, would smile up at him. Now the champion of demon kind wanted to return the favor. He wanted to return the favor not just for himself, but for every demon who ever walked alongside the angel.

“Amon… Do you think we’ll be reborn…?” Lucifer asked after a long silence, when Amon looked down at him, he was shocked to find him smiling up at him. He was always smiling… At least, he was always smiling for the demons, for them. “I’m not sure. I’d like to think we will be.” He whispered, paranoid that the angels will overhear and ensure that their desires would not be met. “Do you think that… We will know each other… when we’re reborn…” The thought was a tempting one, and while Amon didn’t want to give into hope, he couldn’t help but wish for something like that. “I think we will… After all, was it not you who said that no goodbye is permanent, not even the goodbye that death brings? Was it not you who came to the bedside of many dying demons and told them as they breathed their last breath, that they will see you again and you will see them again, all because death is simply the end of a chapter and the start of a new one?” To put it like that made everything so much less frightening. To explain it in such a way was relieving almost.

“Nothing is immortal,” Amon began again. “You said so yourself. Nothing can ever be immortal. But all the same, you also made it abundantly clear that you know that there is something after death. You just don’t know what it is for angels yet… However, I do like to believe that we are now tied by fate. I will try as hard as I can to find you, whether I remember you or not, and make you my mate again. Death will not, in the end, limit the love I have for you in any way…” Lucifer’s eyes welled with tears as he spoke, they cascaded down his cheeks in rivers. The beautiful sentiments were all he needed. “Let’s find each other again Amon… Death is just a temporary state… We will come back, and when we do, we will be together again…”

It was a wonderful fantasy, a beautiful thought… But to believe that their story would have a sequel was a bit of wishful thinking. And yet it was justified. As that meteor came closer and closer, the air ignited. Chaos reigned.

They never felt the impact of the rock into the planet because they had already been cooked alive, holding each other in an embrace as death came to them. Amon and Lucifer died in each others arms, making promises that they couldn’t possibly know how to keep, believing that everything would be alright. They let their love guide them, hoping that someone would hear… and someone did.

God knew Lucifer’s intentions, he knew that he wasn’t going against Heaven as a whole. He knew that his most beautiful angel wasn’t trying to bring down the kingdom… But all the same he also knew that by sparing him he would incite a murdering spree among the angels of Heaven who had fallen to Michael’s lies. Both were serpents in their own right… But who is to say a snake is a bad thing?

Azrael and Uriel did their job, just as God asked of them. Michael had conjured the idea of a punishment… Trap Lucifer in a time loop, trap all of them in a time loop, and have them repeat their mistake over and over again. Have Lucifer kill the love of his life until he eventually gives up and he can no longer take it… Eventually ending his own life. God didn’t like that thought, and so he brought up something else. ** _ “Should Lucifer break out of the time loop, however, instead of die within it -- than you are to leave him be. Earth will become his to roam, Hell will become his Heaven, and you are to let him live. Should he learn how to create a miracle and escape, than Lucifer will not be harmed by your hand any longer.” _ ** Michael, believing Lucifer incapable of a miracle, agreed.

What Michael didn’t know was that he was capable of a miracle, just he was not ready to use it yet. In order to ensure that the beautiful angel does escape one day, he made the form of Ryo Asuka… And to go with it he remade the angel Tabris into the form of Akira Fudo, brushing out the faults of the previous angel which was something more akin to a prototype, to make the perfect human mate and vessel for the demon that Lucifer had grown to love.

With all this set in stone, Azrael and Uriel got to work. Lucifer’s body was sealed away inside the core of the Earth as pure energy. There he would hibernate with the true form of Amon. Just waiting to be awakened.

Death is just the end of one story and the beginning of a new one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're enjoying Devilman: Eden (or even if you're not), I implore you to leave a comment about your thoughts. Hell leave a comment on every chapter if you want -- doesn't even have to be positive. Just let me know what you think. As an aspiring author, any feedback is good feedback. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the story. Thank you so much for reading this far. I can't wait to see where the story takes us.


	19. My Name is Sirene

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The thoughts of Sirene as she goes through the time loops, as she tries to come to terms with what's happening to one of the people she loves the most in the vast expanse of space and time. Knowing full well that he'll never hear it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is much different from normal chapters, this one is centered around Sirene as well as how her tie with Lucifer is just as strong as Amon's or Jenny's. Her love for him goes just as deep. This is one of the only chapters that is narrated in first person like this.

“It was raining that day… The day I met him…

If someone asked me to explain what drew me to him I couldn’t tell you. I wouldn’t be able to say if it was his startling beauty, his brilliant wings, or the fact that he seemed to know exactly what I was going through, all I knew was that I felt the desire to trust him fully and with all my heart. Somewhere deep inside of me I knew that he would never hurt me. He would never hurt a feather upon my body.

And he never did.

He pulled me out of the mud, not caring that the dirt and grime covered his own body in the process. From there he supported my form as we stumbled through the thick foliage. He led me far away from where I came and to a place that I had never seen before in my life. Not even during the times that I flew so high in the sky over the treeline. He guided me to a beautiful pool of water, knowing full well that I was injured in some way.

Despite the chilly rain, he settled with me in the pool, running his dainty fingers through my plumage. With gentle hands he scrubbed the dirt and grime away, speaking to me as if we were old friends reuniting after a long time… He behaved as though we were sisters, as though we had the same blood. I think somehow we both knew that we were the same in some way, shape, or form.

Perfection was what our ‘families’ wanted us to be. But we couldn’t live up to the expectation, so instead we ran away. When we decided that perhaps we’d stop running, they caught up to us, and in the process they hurt us. Our stories echo each other in many ways… but somehow I know that his is far more drastic somehow. At the time, however, I didn’t really want to believe that. 

I didn’t want to believe that inside that kind heart of his, that he was bleeding terribly. So I didn’t. But that only illuminated the truth of the statement.

I was terrified when he did things like awaken Amon, or when he put himself in harm’s way to protect just a small fraction of the demon population. And yet he always did it. Somehow in his mind he didn’t care if he died, so long as his ‘children’ would live. We weren’t just a species anymore, we were a family. That’s how he viewed us. We were his family… When he finally woke Amon from his slumber, I was worried that it’d spell disaster, but instead it formulated the most beautiful relationship I have seen.

No time in the tribe of the Silene would ever have prepared me to see something so warming. How they behaved towards each other, how they never wanted to be apart and yet acted like separate entities, how they showed such trust and kindness towards each other… I truly believe that they were what humans call ‘Adam and Eve’ of love. The first lovers that Terra, or Earth, has ever seen.

I was slightly jealous, if I’m being honest, but I think I would have been more hurt to take one from the other. Being a ‘third-wheel’, as human’s call it, is never a pleasant experience. However, I would do it over and over again if it meant seeing Satan’s joyous smile and to hear Amon’s jovial laughter. There was not a single part of me that wished them harm, nor was there a part of me that stood against them. I loved both of them in many different ways, individually and together, but all the same I loved them the most when I saw how happy they made each other.

When Lucius died I felt like my insides were being torn out. To hear such a precious living creature was no longer possible, and would probably never get a chance, it was the worst thing that could have happened to me I believe. I’d rather die a million deaths than watch Satan approach us with the fetus in his arms and blood all over him.

It was that night that I vowed to stop being the princess he was always saving. I wanted to save him too. I wanted to fight. I wanted to stand by his side not as someone he felt the need to save, but as someone that could shoulder his burden with him. He is carrying an entire planet on his shoulders, and while Amon helps him, I know that’s not enough. Yet, despite all that, I still failed.

I failed to protect and save him… He did so much for all of us and I let him down… I let him die… At least I had the ability to die alongside him for the first time.

_ ‘No goodbye is permanent, not even the goodbye that death brings.’  _ You promised us all that we will see you again, all because death is simply ‘the end of a chapter and the start of a new one’… I firmly believe that, especially now as we all stand at the altar watching as your form takes shape among the fountain for which we have constructed.

The humans here worship you, but that’s not why we have them here. We know that you wouldn’t want to be idolized. However it’s the only way to bring you back to this mortal world. I was the one that reached into the water of the beautiful fountain… It was me that pulled your body out and cut you free of your angelic sac. It was me that cradled you against my breast and held you close, feeding you artificial formula from a bottle… How strange that your body so desperately wishes to believe it is human.

I was the one that took you up on the 14th of April in the year 2000, on the day of the devil as has been prophesied by humanity for so long, cradling your body to my breast and allowing you to become acquainted to my heart beat. When you were a few days old I swaddled you comfortably in blankets and placed you within a wicker basket before settling you in the river. I watched as you drifted lazily about, so quiet, so peaceful, and so beautiful… You bobbed among the waves, a precious treasure following the currents to your new home… 

I watched you as you floated your way to the next chapter of your story. I always kept a safe distance, we all did. Myself, Jenny, Kaim, everyone who awoke and who served under you as part of the demon army all watched as that tribe in the jungle found you. They took you into their arms and we knew immediately they would cherish you, at least for a little while. They would protect you until it was time for you to move on.

I vowed when you lost Lucius that I would protect you, as such in this new life I became your guardian angel. When that tribe came under siege, I was the one that killed those that fired at you. You fled to the river that you knew you came from. One day I know you will ask, when you remember all of this, how you were not eaten by dangerous animals. Well… the answer is simple. It’s because the eyes that you saw in the jungle, those eyes that followed you and glowed in the darkness from the shore, was us. Those eyes which peered up at you from the water you swam in, the occasional brush against your toes, that was us… trying to protect you.

The bird woman you often thought you saw in front of the moon, the ‘vulture’ or ‘swan’ that you swore you spotted in a tree for just a moment, the angel that would fly by your window at night… I was being careless those nights that you spotted me, but I always watched you. I always wanted to protect you in every way I could.

However I know that to a point I cannot. My beautiful Ryo… The name you have chosen to adorn, the name that you wish to be referred to now, I know that you stand against me as you are now. I know that you truly believe that you despise my kind but all the same I can see in your eyes the fondness for demons. You called out to your mate during Sabbath, you whispered my name in your dreams, and you called Jenny to your side as an assistant or butler. I understand how torn you are feeling and just know that no matter what you do to me my thoughts on you will always be the same.

My darling Satan-- no, my lovely Ryo, how I love you so… How I cherish you like the rarest flower. More valuable than my own life, more valuable than every piece of rare ore on this earth, I will do anything to repay the debt I owe you… One day I hope to see those beautiful wings again, so large and pure. One day I hope to hear your lovely laugh, to see you dance again among the beautiful flora of the world you have loved for so long. One day I hope to see that smile again.

My dearest Ryo, I know that you will never know me in this life of yours… But I truly want you to know me even if you’ll never hear this dying wish. My name is Sirene and I will always love you just as you’ve taught me to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of gender terms for Lucifer have been flipping as of late-- using terms like 'Queen' or 'mother', despite the fact that Lucifer identifies himself as a male. This is in due to the fact that he only uses male terms for simplicity sake and out of habit. Whether he truly feels he is a male or a female is up to debate and not something he cares about. As such the demons echo this sentiment.


	20. My Wish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jenny expresses her feelings for Ryo and for Lucifer, how she desires to protect him, and why she cannot do more for him without jeopardizing the plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is very similar to the last chapter except that it is from Jenny's perspective as opposed to Sirene's. As such it has a completely different tone and viewpoint on the events as they unraveled. As well as a broader image of what will be seen in the next arc.

_ ‘Hush little baby don’t say a word…’ _

“I remember singing that to you as your sobs filled the night. You thought it was just a dream, an illusion for which was never true, and as you grew up, you forgot just how long I had been by your side. When I knew you way back when, I saw you as a child to me. One I could never have for my mate had long since passed before I was given the opportunity. I protected you, I groomed you, I gave you guidance. And then that horrible event had befallen us, death had come for us… However, she wasn’t going to take us away.

I spoke to her, that beautiful lady Azrael. Another one of those individuals for which I did not mind from your kind. She conveyed the plan for which you will never know until you open your eyes not as Ryo Asuka, but as Lucifer, once again. She felt sorrow for what was befalling you and as such gave us the advantage to save you and your aching heart. She explained to us how to spare you as much tragedy as possible, but in order to do that, you as a human must endure great pain. Your mind will be stuck with a million pins as your soul struggles to grasp your true form.

Regardless of the pain you will undergo, tiny Ryo, I will be by your side to lead you through the darkness. No matter what individuals may say on the school yard, regardless of the ailment you feel in a church, nevermind the eventual betrayal which will unfold, I will always be your demon-mother. Just like Amon will always be your mate, Zenon will always be your son, and Sirene will always be your sister; it may feel like we’ve left your side, Satan, but never would we even think of something like that.

My tiny Ryo, to see your tears is such a painful sight. To hear you hide under your bed in fear of your own father. To watch you run out of the house to avoid grabbing hands.

It’s unsightly to see someone who was once so strong fall so hard. It wasn’t even a fall justified by their own corruption… You fell because you were pushed by that wretched Michael for which you’ve spoken of. And now you fear the monsters in the dark that you hear when your father starts drinking his life away and your mother starts coughing up her own blood. You leave the house hiding your makeup and clothes, afraid that someone will notice and grab at you, doing whatever they want with their ‘trophy child’ who is just a little too ‘untrophy-like’ for their preferences. You are called devil and demon alike by the nuns at your catholic school, not realizing that it is the truth, and that you shouldn’t be ashamed of who you are. You listen to the lectures about how self harm and suicide are terrible sins forbidden by God, all while hiding your freshly bandaged wrists through your sleeve. 

Once the topic turns to homosexuality and the idea of gender, you are quick to make sure nobody notices that you are intersex and have been wanting to identify as a boy this whole time, but instead have been dressing in girl clothes for your dying mother’s sake, whom of which always wanted a daughter. You cross your legs to hide the deformity for which you believe you’ve been condemned with, and you fold your arms under your swelling breasts to allay any suspicions in your peers-- making you look almost like a sexual deviant all the while.

I hate seeing you like this, my dear Ryo. Pining for acceptance, for someone to rely on. Way back when, I remember, you were so cross with the world that you didn’t need to lean upon anyone else for guidance. Yet all the same you showed kindness to those that didn’t deserve it. There are stories of Jesus’ feats of kindness and love… How humans view that man, is how the demons view you. You are our miracle, our savior, our salvation… If we ever needed that to begin with. As such, any demon will protect you from whatever we can, but all the same we cannot get too involved in such a task.

You need to be battered and bruised to awaken as our Lord Satan. I wish it didn’t have to be like that, but there is no helping it. Despite all that however I will always keep you safe. I will always protect you however I can. In any way that I can. You are important to all of us, when you open those eyes I wish to be the first person to see your expression.

My little Ryo, how I wish to protect you, even though I know I cannot.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the official conclusion of the Mesozoic Arc of Devilman: Eden. I may or may not go on hiatus from this fic for a few days to give a breath before picking back up. Thank you all again for reading this far. If you like (or don't like) the story so far than please let me know via comments. They can be anonymous or not, I don't care either way. Thank you all again, I look forward to continuing this story.


	21. Blessed Child

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A baby was discovered by a tribe deep in the Amazon Rain Forest. His beauty and odd appearance lends to the belief that he's some sort of God. All the same, he must be cared for, their little blessing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The language that the characters speak is supposed to be all my own-- I did not take any inspiration from any language. To continue on this fact, when I switch over to English dialogue, it's for simplicity sake. They are not speaking English. It's just Ryo can understand what they're saying, therefore I wrote it in English so we could also understand what was being said.

“Kusa! Kusa!” A small child cried, tugging lightly on the sling that his mother used to carry his little sister. The woman looked down at him, inspecting what he was doing. When he lifted his hand to point, she suddenly understood. Raising her head, she looked in the direction of the river. The tide bubbled against the shore, almost as though it were a creek instead of a massive body of water, the mother’s eyes widened as she saw what was out there. A basket, made of reeds, bobbing along the water. There was a sick wailing sound coming from it.

Her instincts kicked into overdrive and she took her son’s hand, running back a little ways before calling out. “Tsun! Tsun! Isa alach tsun!” The attention of the tribe, which wasn’t far off, was immediately captured. Many rushed to the shore, upon seeing the basket they wasted no time. Small rowboats, or something akin to rowboats, were brought quickly to the bubbling river waves. Immediately the most fit men in the tribe began to paddle their way out into the water.

It took a bit of time, they didn’t want to tip the basket and drown the baby, but eventually they managed to secure the basket using a spear. Hooking the handle of the basket on the end of the spear and pulling it closer slowly. As they retrieved the reed basket, all of them couldn’t help but wonder how the hell the baby was still alive. There were piranhas in these waters. There were anacondas, electric eels, bull sharks, arapaima, and other dangerous sea dwelling entities. All of which would certainly love to take a bite out of a baby so small and petite as this one.

The men began to row their way back to shore, basket safely secured. The woman who spotted him was quick to rush over.

She was a mother after all, and not only that but a very prominent mother. She’s had many children, and as such, nobody could be trusted more with the baby than her. Gently she took the child out of the basket and cradled him close. He was so fair… She had never seen someone so pale before. Nevertheless someone with white hair. The baby’s wails immediately calmed and for an instant a thought flashed in her mind… She had never seen a baby who calmed so quickly at just the simple touch and warmth of a mother.

The boy who stood by her hip got up on his tip-toes, attempting to peer at the baby for which his mother had found. She allowed him to look, his expression stunned. Was it a surprise then, as they looked upon such a beautiful baby boy, that they’d assume he was some baby of a deity. This tribe, uncontacted and isolated deep within the Amazon Rainforest, had never seen anyone that looked quite like this child. And even if they had than it wasn’t a surprise that they’d grow hostile… But what damage could a baby do?

“I have never seen such a better behaved child…” The mother stated as she cradled the baby to her chest. The baby for which she often carried in a sling across her back had long since stopped drinking her breast milk, as such feeding this new baby was no problem for her. She ran her digits through his pale hair, his eyes shut tight. She has only seen his eyes once, beautiful blues, but as soon as they caught the bright sunlight peeking through the canopy, he shut them tightly again. Each time he’d scrunch up his face as though he was in pain… perhaps he didn’t enjoy the bright sunlight of the world…  _ ‘Maybe blue eyes are blue because they are damaged…’ _ She thought to herself. This couldn’t be further from the truth, although she was right to assume there is something wrong with his eyes.

The baby has sensitive eyes. He can see so much with so little, but because of this he is more sensitive to things like light. From when he comes from, it wasn’t nearly this bright. The mother didn’t mind however, she would just keep him indoors when she could.

A concern appeared in her gut as the infant finished nursing, a bit of breast milk on his cheek. He hardly eats, this little boy. He will suckle for maybe a minute or two, and then stop. If he’s encouraged to start drinking again, he becomes somewhat grumpy and fussy, as though he no longer believes he can hold any milk in his belly.  _ ‘Is his tummy really that small?’ _ She hoped not… She wouldn’t want him accidentally starving himself.

With her other hand she began to rub the little boy’s stomach. He made a little whimper, but didn’t seem to be complaining too much. He shifted a bit, and for a moment the mother wondered if she was somehow hurting him. That was until his hand had finally made its way over to her fingers. Her heart skipped a beat as his tiny hands grasped her fingers tight. Or at least as tight as a baby could grasp anything. Those blue eyes opened and he stared up at her curiously.

The mother’s heart warmed up immensely as she squeezed the baby lightly to her chest. Such a beautiful child, how lucky were they that the Gods had placed this baby here. That they allowed for one of them to come to their tribe in the form of an infant to raise. This was everything they could ever want. Everything they could ever need. As such they would do anything to protect and care for the child.

As time moved on, the boy continued to grow. Soon enough he was speaking, granted it was in a language nobody could understand, but he  _ was _ speaking. With enough time passing, the little baby was eventually on his feet, stumbling forward with the loving support of his adopted mother. Despite that however his tiny, pudgy legs were still holding him up-- he was still walking regardless of how he fell. He never cried as he toppled. He never cried when anything bad happened to him… The only time he would cry was when his ‘mother’ would leave his side. It seemed to the tribe that this godlike baby never wanted to be alone, as though he had seen something terrible.

It didn’t take long for the miraculous powers that this tiny boy possessed to manifest. In danger he would surround himself in ethereal wings. Wings that don’t truly exist, but seemed to have a physical form for a period regardless. When he learned to walk and run, learning new tasks became easier than ever. He could climb especially well. Throwing a spear or shooting a bow and arrow was child’s play. Soon enough his skills surpassed even the most seasoned of tribe members. They truly believed it was because he was a God… Nobody even thought that it could be because he’s accustomed to these weapons already.

He may not remember any of it. He couldn’t remember Amon, he couldn’t remember Sirene or Jenny, he couldn’t remember the demon army or Heaven… Not even Michael would have rung a bell for him. But this boy, regardless of those memories, was still Lucifer. His muscles still remembered… The Queen of Terra may have lost their memory, but their body would never forget what they have learned.

As he grew older, and his abilities became more noticable, the tribe became more obsessive. They began to fear him and devoted themselves to making him happy. He would get the first pick of the food, he would get first say on what happened, but most of all… All sacrifices would be to him. It was not uncommon for this tribe to take outsiders that they had captured through conflict, or a poor encounter, and kill them for their Gods. As is the way with people from the past… This child would be presented with throbbing brains, pulsing hearts, lungs that still had air in them, so on so forth.

He didn’t express a hatred for these gifts, but he never accepted them either. The tribe believed that his lack of blunt refusal was him trying to be modest, as such they kept going with their practices. Not knowing that the child truly didn’t care for it. One day, however, the men brought forth before the child and his ‘mother’ a man. This man looked very similar to the child in many ways. Pale, blond, but he didn’t have blue eyes.

Satan took pity upon this man, and ordered for the tribe to halt in their actions. He didn’t want to see this man fall to the sacrificial blade. But that didn’t stop the rest of the man’s group from dying instead. To them this wasn’t immoral. They truly believed that most of these individuals, and rightfully so, would harm the integrity of their lifestyle. How many times has the newcomers ruined everything? How many times have invaders stepped upon their sacred ground and just burned it all down? They were correct to assume the ‘civilized man’ is just the same. Truly what’s to say that the ‘savages’ aren’t just as civilized, just in a different way?

Regardless, Satan spared the man, but the rest of his exploration group was killed for their rituals. They had committed a terrible crime, taking from the graves of their dead, therefore a punishment must be made. Corpses floated down the amazon river, piranhas had their way with the bleeding flesh. Nobody batted an eye. The man left, they exiled him, hoping that he would go back to his ‘tribe’ and explain that they were not ones to mess with… The opposite happened however.

The terror a gun brings to those who have never even seen even the glow of an oil lamp is mortifying. When those soldiers came, nobody knew what to make of it. However their ‘God’ could only save himself. He stayed for a while, unsure of what to do as the noise befell them. Murder and massacre, the tribe members who survived scattered deep into the forest, fearing for their lives. The land grew barren soon enough. Their stomping grounds had been decimated by foreign feet. The soldiers, upon seeing that there was nobody left, believed they had done a good job eradicating the danger. As such they left and attempted to hunt down any remaining survivors.

They should have expected retaliation… But all the same, they never thought it would be so terrible.

The soldiers had missed one person in the massacre. Pushing his ‘mother’s corpse from off of him, the child rose to his feet. The rags he wore made him look more like he was in an oversized t-shirt than any sort of tribal clothing. Coated in blood, hurt only a little bit, he attempted to stir his ‘mother’. Truly this was the first time Satan cried as a human. Night fell upon him and the startling alarm came to him.

He was in the jungle now, all by himself, without anyone to protect him. They were safe originally, as they huddled together in numbers. But now he was painfully alone. Working his way to his feet, he stumbled through the darkness, terrified at every turn. The rain came down upon him hard, soaking his blood stained form, and exhausting him with the ever threatening thunder and lightning. What would he do if the monsters in the sky took hold of him? A child’s fear, but one that he had nonetheless… He was only four years old after all… He didn’t quite grasp it all yet.

The river where he came from was his only safe option. He knew he was no God… But it was his tribe that told him that the river is where he came from and therefore it would be his safest home. Nothing attacked him then, they would never attack him through the ages. Little did he know that the reason for that was because of the demons that waited so closely to him. Peering from the darkness to ensure his safety.

Jinmen was always beneath his feet as they fluttered in the water, Jenny was always upon the right bank, Kaim was constantly trailing upon the left, Sirene hovered high in the sky, ensuring his safety from the air. This was their Satan… They would never let their Great Lord fall in such a way. He always protected them, now it was their turn to return the favor. Even if they feared for what the future held for him.

The child floated upon the river for a long time, eventually reaching the end where it dumped out into the great Atlantic.

A nudge from the tide pushed the child onto the shore just a short while before he was dumped into the depths of the sea. A light far away caught his attention. Sopping wet, with clothes still stained with blood, he stumbled towards the beacon. What was it? He wasn’t sure, but it seemed welcoming. Maybe there were people there? Something in his mind said that everything would be better if he could just reach that spot.

The rocky cliffside carved into his legs, feet, hands, and arms. He struggled up the side of the cliff, a side that wasn’t too steep but one that wasn’t ideal for climbing regardless. All the while it was the only one he could get to. He didn’t notice the turtle demon, Jinmen, peeking his head out of the water to ensure that his mission was done. He had made sure that the child, that Satan, had reached the shore safely near their point of meeting. This point was integral to the plot that they needed.

Everytime that the child nearly fell from the cliffside, something brushed against his back… A gust of wind? Or perhaps something more? A helping hand. When he looked, however, darkness was all he was greeted with. The invisible form of Zenon never appeared to him. The child he created eons ago was hiding amongst his perfect camouflage as four figures capable of disappearing into the darkness at any time.

Eventually he reached the flat surface of the cliff, exhausted and bleeding all over. He stumbled weakly, his tears clouding his vision along with the heavy rain. He tried to get to that beautiful beacon of light, but his vision was spinning. He felt faint, his body heavy from exhaustion. How wonderful would it be if he could just fall there? How much better would it be if he could just sleep or die? His legs gave out beneath him and the hard, rocky ground became a bed to him. Collapsed there, his mind faded into the darkness.

He was thirsty, hungry, tired, and hurt… He didn’t see Sirene circling from up above, ensuring that no animals chose to pick at him, from the sky. 

Only one entity would be allowed to come close to the tiny child.

Akira Fudo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ryo, at the start of this chapter, is no older than three or four weeks old. 
> 
> Also, on another note, I am back from hiatus on Devilman: Eden! Welcome to the new arc, where most of the archive warnings will come into play.


	22. Like a Wet Kitten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira Fudo finds the boy cold, alone, and injured. He immediately decides that he wants to protect him and keep him safe-- the start of a beautiful friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The care facility that Akira and Ryo find themselves in is a daycare. It's for children who have parents that are always away on business or something of that sort. As such they are being babysat by the ladies at the care facility. It is not called a daycare or nursery just due to the fact that those places sound to warm for a place as quaint and somewhat uncomfortable as this.

“Are you okay?”

The question seemed ridiculous, but in his lazy and foggy mind, he couldn’t quite hear it. It rang through in his skull and gave him a horrible headache. All the same something in his brain immediately could grasp what was being told to him. The child had never heard English, nor had he ever heard Japanese, the only human language he had known was that of the tribe which now was doing little more than water the plants of the Amazon in their own blood. Yet somehow his mind grasped it with ease… Perhaps it was because of how many times these events had played out before… Perhaps it’s because of the fact that he is Satan, asleep and dormant, but still capable of reading the thoughts of others, at least to a degree. Regardless of what it was, he could still understand.

“You’re bleeding, and scared.” The stranger spoke, the blond didn’t know what to say on that front. He could hardly even pick up his head. He was shivering, his teeth chattering, the blood on his legs and arms have since crusted over his skin after having blended with the dirt and grime.  _ ‘What do you know about my being frightened?’ _ The child thought, but he couldn’t find the will to speak. Thankfully that will never came as the stranger embraced the human born angel, holding his shivering body close. The warmth of another living being, he never realized how much he craved it.

Blue eyes stared up at the clouded sky, it’s going to rain again. This had to be a dream and when those raindrops start falling again, he’ll awaken. This child will disappear like a fog does in the cold. He’ll be all alone again, just steps away from that worthless beacon. Now that he’s awake, he realized how foolish it was to come up here… But all the same, this child was here.

Even if this person was simply the illusion of a dying mind, it was nice to die in the embrace of some false love and care. It was much better than being alone on this planet. “Come with me! You’re wet, and cold, and-- and I want to make sure you’re okay.” The sentences for which this boy spoke were fragmented, childish, as to be expected from someone his age… But regardless, the boy agreed. He allowed for the stranger to pull him to his feet. Exhaustion limited the blond to leaning against the stranger as they limped towards a building in the opposite direction of where he went before.

The cliffside was abandoned as they came upon a small building. The sounds of children from inside only intimidated the blond, loud sounds which caused him to cling onto the stranger for support. “It’s okay, you’re okay, I’ll make sure you’re okay.” The stranger reassured. How can someone be so kind to a character they don’t even know? The blond wasn’t sure, but all the same he wasn’t going to question. Mostly because he doesn’t want to lose the only comfort he has, the only line that he managed to grasp.

“Akira, who is tha--” An older woman stopped as she took in the entire visage of the boy. He was trembling, shivering in the arms of the boy he had only just met. “I… don’t know, I just found him. He was alone.” Akira… That was his name. Exhaustion was taking the child again, he felt his legs giving out from beneath him, and yet somehow the strength of this child was more than he could muster at the moment. Akira didn’t let him fall, but instead caught him and slowly lowered to the ground, not allowing for Satan to just hit the ground. His mind was spinning, his world fading in and out again.

They were saying something but it felt like there was fabric stuffed in his ears. He couldn’t hear it. Soon enough he found himself fading into the oblivion of unconsciousness. The child remained in this state for days. A fever developed in his cold form. When he finally came to his senses, completely and fully, a week came to pass.

Warmth filled the child in every way, a soft cotton blanket cocooned around him, swaddling him in a fabric embrace. However, that wasn’t the only embrace he was receiving. The child for which he had met so long ago was holding onto him so tight. His shifting must have been noticeable because the boy looked down at him. They made eye contact and the grin that came to Akira’s face was so bright and full of joy that the blond wasn’t sure what to make of it. “You’re awake!” The stranger chimed.

As soon as that exclamation was made, Satan found himself bombarded with questions. 

“Do you have any parents?”

“No…”

“Have you ever been to a doctor?”

“What’s a doctor?”

“Where did you come from?”

“A tribe.”

“In the rainforest?”

“Mm-hm…”

“How did you get to the cliff?”

“I climbed.”

So on so forth the questions dragged on, with no conclusive end from the adults who asked them. In the end, Satan was so overwhelmed that he wanted to cry again. But the tears wouldn’t come. His heart ached and stung him, but no tears manifested. Akira’s arms found him again and pulled him close. This was going to become a pattern… Satan knew it to be true. Those tiny arms took him so close and comforted him. “It’s okay… You don’t have to cry… I’m here.” Somehow that was the biggest comfort of all. 

“Do you have a name?” Akira spoke between soft sobs. Empathetic crying over his own pain. “No…” A moment of thought, before the child spoke again. “How about… Ryo? That’s a pretty name.” The blond thought on it for a while, it did sound appealing to him, but that begged the question-- “What does it mean?” For a moment, Akira didn’t even seem to know. “I think… it means ‘reality’ or something like that. I’m not quite sure. I just thought that since it’s pretty and stuff, it’d be nice for you.” He responded, somewhat sheepish. The tears he was crying just moments ago had evaporated since.

“Akira? You do know Ryo is a girl’s name right?” One of the ladies asked. “Yeah but--” Not a breath had passed before the blond had summoned enough courage to chime in with a, “I like it, so it’s okay.” That was the end of it. Akira had given him the name Ryo, and from then on it would be his most prized possession. The name given to him by the boy that would very quickly become his best friend.

Akira Fudo, then and there, had become Ryo’s best friend-- and the only friend he would ever have until the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> According to the website Nameberry (which I used to research to try and find a reason why Akira would name Ryo what he did) the profile for the name Ryo reads as such -- "The name Ryo is a girl's name of Japanese origin meaning 'fact, reality, understand; distant; defy'." To also add a fun fact about this profile, when talking about this name in popular media, Ryo Asuka was in fact mentioned. I personally find more humor and symbolism in the fact that as a character Ryo was given the name he was for a multitude of reasons.


	23. Oil and Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryo and Akira bond together, showing just how different they are despite their attachment to each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The name of this chapter may be somewhat unclear judging by the chapters context. This chapter is meant to introduce Akira's family, the care facility, and the difference between Ryo and Akira's personalities. In the end, Ryo and Akira, despite being extremely close, are truly like oil and water when compared to each other. The fact they get along is a mystery other than the fact that they look at the world intuitively.

“It’s okay Ryo… They just don’t understand.” Akira explained as he sat down beside his best friend. Kids could be nasty, everyone knew that, even other children. That didn’t excuse the bright purple bruise blooming upon the blond’s arm from one of the nastier brats that stamped about the playground. Most of the children in this day care weren’t orphaned. They had parents, all of which who seemed appalled at the story for which they received about the boy who appeared from the rainforest.

Some of the reactions ranged from outright racist to just plain nasty. Things like  _ ‘that boy must be lying because he’s as white as snow-- no way he lived with the savages in the jungle’ _ to comments that ranged along the lines of  _ ‘if he’s telling the truth than that means he’s okay with hurting people, he let his ‘tribe’ kill people for him, what makes it that he won’t do the same to our kids.’  _ In the end both were wrong assumptions to make, but due to them being made regardless, it caused for the children around them to treat the blond with nothing but hostility.

The two ladies who ran the daycare were taking care of the boy for now, as orphanages weren’t very common and they feared that it’d just land the child in foster care regardless, and providing him with a home… But all the same they had so many children to care for all at once, it was hard to stop the harassment. In the end, those children wouldn’t be around forever. They would always tell little Ryo that eventually someone will adopt him and take him to a nice place far away, where he will be happy… The blond didn’t think that would ever happen. A nagging thought in his brain told him that happiness had been denied to him long ago… If it wasn’t, than why did he watch the only family he knew die in such a terrible way?

Despite this he never complained. He let other children treat him poorly, hiding it behind a neutral expression, all for the sake of allowing Akira to never see the pain that he was harboring. His tears were the worst things to see… Seeing Akira cry made his heart throb so terribly he thought it was going to stop.

All the while, Akira felt immense pain when he thought that Ryo was keeping his emotions from him. The child didn’t care if it made him cry, he wanted to be sure that his best friend was alright. He wanted to be certain that he wasn’t hurting in any way, shape, or form. He told him he’d protect him and not let anything bad happen, and he meant it. Little did he know that as the future drew closer, their roles would be reversed.

“Hey mommy, daddy, can Ruu sleep over?” Akira asked, much to everyone, even Ryo’s, surprise. Kaori, Akira’s mother, looked up to the blond and immediately grew sympathetic for him, but the question had to be asked. “Are his parents okay with it?” There was a tense silence, one that wasn’t surprising. “I… Don’t have any parents…” Ryo answered, shifting somewhat uncomfortably where he stood. “Ruu’s an orphan!” The younger boy chimed in, not realizing how rude that may sound.

Kaori and Reijiro would have scolded their son, if not for the fact that the two boys seemed to giggle at the comment. They were humored by the older’s misfortune in a way… Whatever happened, it left the blond in a poor state to be laughing at something that must be a sore and open wound in his heart… Judging by how he reacted to earlier prodding, that wound was probably still fresh. “If your mother is okay with it,” Reijiro, Akira’s father, began. “Than I am too.”

Kaori looked over to her husband, studying his expression for a second, before she nodded. “Y-Yes, I’m more than happy to have… um…” She blanked on a name, to which the blond simply answered with a, “Ryo.”

“Yes, of course. I’m more than happy to have Ryo over for the night.” After days of Akira not having any friends to speak of, they couldn’t complain when he finally made one. Beggars can’t be choosers, that’s how the saying goes. But she’d be lying if she said that she wasn’t at least slightly concerned over the choice of friend for which Akira had grown to care for. This boy seemed so detached in every way, almost as though he no longer felt emotions. Something in his eyes spelled out ‘apathetic’. In the end she found that she truly wasn’t as uncomfortable as she initially thought she was going to be.

The drive back to their house was long, music played over the radio, and Akira seemed to talk Ryo’s ear off as per usual. This wasn’t uncommon for their dynamic. Akira would talk and talk and talk-- and Ryo would just sit and listen, happy to just hear his voice. It comforted him in a way. By the time they pulled up to the house, the younger was in shock that the older had never had ice cream, or cookies, or even, god forbid, candy.

“Mama! Can Ruu have marble chocolate?” He begged, before the blond inquired quizzically, “What’s that?” Akira let out an offended gasp, as though someone had just stabbed him in the heart. “It’s these little chocolates, they come in a tube, and you get a sticker!” Confusion once again fluttered across the older’s face. “What’s a sticker?” Another gasp from Akira, this time more shocked and pained. Far more dramatic. “Mamaaaaaaaaaaa! Pleaseeeeeeeeeeee!” He whined, pressing on until Kaori finally said, with a sigh, “Alright alright, he can have one. Let’s just get out of the car first.”

Kaori and Reijiro got out of the car, going to the child closest to them and unbuckling them from their seats. Akira had no issues getting out, however Kaori found herself supporting Ryo as he stepped out. He had never been in a car before. Not that he remembered at least. Soon enough the older was being dragged inside by his hand, much to his shock, but not to his displeasure.

It was that night that Ryo discovered chocolate, and it was that night that Ryo decided it was one of his favorite foods. Dinner that night was yakitori, another food item that Ryo was quick to grow fond of. Something that was a relief to everyone, partly because they didn’t know if he knew how to use silverware, let alone chopsticks. After dinner the boys got a bath together, to which the older’s shy side came forth as he hid in the green water of the tub, all the while Akira was having no issue appearing above the water level, his arms resting upon the porcelain shelf. In the end the two boys seemed all the more happy to relax and unwind after a long day.

Bedtime came quickly after, and the two went to Akira’s room to sleep. The pitter-patter of rain echoed upon the window and roof. Kaori and Reijiro had long since gone to bed, as such, with only the light of a night light in the room, Ryo and Akira were all alone. Akira had long since fallen deep into a slumber, while Ryo remained awake and alert, staring up at the glow-in-the-dark star stickers upon the ceiling.

Thunder boomed outside, much to Ryo’s dismay as he let out a quiet cry and curled up tightly next to Akira. He was terrified of thunderstorms… Ever since that day they have horrified him. He clung onto his best friend tightly, hoping that he’d protect him from any monster that tried to snatch him from the sky. The silhouette of a bird-human-hybrid rushed passed the window. Ryo caught sight of it and let out a cry loud enough to wake Akira up. The child sat up abruptly, in shock and alarm.

“Ruu! What’s wrong?” He asked, concerned evident in his voice as he held his best friend close to him. He was trembling, horrified, tensing up as thunder boomed all around them and lightning flickered with sickening static crackles. Kaori and Reijiro didn’t awaken from their slumbers in their bedroom… Ryo’s cries were not like Akira’s, for his was one brief startled yelp, when Akira believed he saw a monster he would wail and wail for hours.

Akira held Ryo’s trembling body in a tight embrace, rubbing his back as he did so, just like how his mother did for him. If when his mama did it, it made him happy, then it should make Ryo happy too! That was the logic anyways… It was a success, and in the end such a gesture worked, but the lingering terror was still present.

Akira sat awake like that until the night came to a close for Ryo, holding his best friend as close as he could. No words had to be spoken. It was obvious that the younger had already made his point clear. He would protect Ryo how he could, he’d ensure that he was safe and sound… He would beat up all the bad guys, just like a superhero! That was his one wish as thunder crashed around outside.

After a moment of certainty that the blond had fallen asleep, Akira allowed himself to collapse back onto the bed, and drift off back into the abyssal dreamscape. Still holding Ryo close to him so that when he wakes up, if he wakes up, he won’t feel so scared. He was his best friend after all… If he couldn’t calm those fears, than what kind of friend was he? Not a very good one he figured.

When morning came, the smell of rice and egg stirred Akira awake. It was always food that aroused him from his sleep… And it would remain that way until the end of time it would seem. He sat up, completely forgetting the night’s previous endeavors. Looking over, he saw that Ryo was still sound asleep and relegated himself to laying beside him until his mother came to get them for breakfast.

He could suppress the growling of his stomach for a little while longer… Ryo was much more important than the egg and toast he was going to have for breakfast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A fun fact for these characters that will play into the future of the story, and how I portray these characters. Here are the MBTI typs for the characters of Devilman: Eden.  
Satan: INTP  
Ryo: INTJ (the reason Ryo and Satan are different is because Ryo does develop a slightly different personality type naturally, when he awakens as Satan they take up the helm of the INTJ personality type)  
Akira: ENFP  
Amon: INTJ  
Sirene: INFP  
Jenny: ENTJ  
Uriel: INFJ  
Azrael: INTJ  
Raphael: ENFJ  
Gabriel: ISFJ  
Michael: ESFJ
> 
> This is just for fun -- don't take it too seriously. It's been lingering in my notes for a while and I figured I'd share it.


	24. Adoption

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryo finally gets adopted by the Asuka family, becoming Ryo Asuka, the son of Chloe Asuka and Hiroaki Asuka.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Asuka's live in Maryland, USA, although they do have homes all over the world. From California to France to Japan, the Asuka family can hop around however they choose. But due to Chloe's lung cancer, vertigo, and chronic fatigue, this isn't often feasible.

“Ryo, this is Hiroaki and Chloe Asuka.” The daycare lady introduced. The two strangers that stood before him were intimidating at best and they were as different as different could be. The child shifted uncomfortably as he looked up at them, feeling so small and insignificant. Their eyes were focused upon him as though they were sizing him up-- of course this couldn’t be further from the case. They were just as frightened as he was worried of rejection and containing the fear that the child would never grow fond of them. How terrible would that be!

Hiroaki was an older, Japanese man with dark hair and eyes, he looked like a giant when compared to tiny Ryo, towering over him at 5’10”. Tall for his demographic and even taller when compared to the boy. His expression was perpetually harsh, as if he didn’t want to be there. Glasses perched upon his nose and a glare piercing the glass like a blade. Chloe, on the other hand, looked intimidating but a lot less so than her husband. She was a beautiful American woman, brilliant blue eyes and long golden blonde hair. Her attire of bright pink clothing was more welcoming than it was foreboding, even if Ryo thought the color was overall hideous. Not only that but she also didn’t dwarf him in the same way that Hiroaki did… She was a meager 5’4”, much less intimidating than the height of her husband. Regardless he wasn’t sure what to say to them in the end.

“I-It’s nice to meet you, Ryo.” Chloe finally spoke, her voice a soft and gentle tone as she stepped closer and crouched down before him. The boy shrunk away a bit, but when he found that she wasn’t going to do anything bad to him, he grew a bit more comfortable. “He’s been through if a lot of his stories are to be believed… I’d say considering how shy he is, it’s a miracle he isn’t hiding away under the table or desk…”

Chloe frowned at this bit of information, she let herself shift onto her knees before she relaxed in front of the child. “Well… Ryo, I don’t know what happened but… If you want I could make sure you’re safe and that nothing bad ever happens to you again.” It sounded awkward, and she knew it, but it was the only thing she could think to say. This child already looked like he had been through so much. What was she to do?

Ryo stared at her for a moment, unsure of what he was supposed to do in response to that. He approached her tentatively, as though testing the water. Chloe held her arms open for him and was overjoyed to find that he decided to accept her offer of an embrace. She held him close, gripping him tightly to her chest and cradling him. Hiroaki approached the two of them, resting his hand on her shoulder. She looked up to him, they exchanged silent glances of knowing. This was the one.

Picking up the young boy, Chloe felt her heart bursting. She couldn’t have kids, the chemicals from her father’s tobacco company had rendered her infertile. Besides the sheer amount of genetic illnesses that plagued her really wouldn’t do any child good. However she and Hiroaki wanted a child, they had ever since they got married, and as such adoption was the only option… They were devastated when no child resonated with them, it sounds selfish to say such a thing. To judge a child on first impressions, but they didn’t want to take a child in that they weren’t certain they could raise properly.

When Kaori and Reijiro reached out to them saying they may have solved their problems, their close friends, the two of them jumped on the offer. They sent their secretary Jenny to meet Ryo first. She brought with her one of their lesser maids, Sirene. Both came back raving about the boy… With all the positive light shined upon the blond, and the pictures they had seen of him with little Akira, they couldn’t refuse. This was their baby boy… Granted Chloe always wanted a daughter but she was willing to settle.

Time moved so slow as the two of them filled out all the papers, helped Ryo pack all of his things, and then said their final goodbyes. “Promise you’ll bring him around to visit every now and again.” Kaori spoke playfully, to which Chloe jovially replied with, “Of course! We wouldn’t dream of depriving you of your second son! Besides, Akira would be absolutely torn up without him.” She looked down to the two boys who were embracing tightly, however from what it looked like it seemed more like Ryo was being crushed by Akira in a death grip.

When it was finally time to leave, the two truly were inseparable, but eventually they managed to pry them apart and go their separate ways. But not truly… Texting was an option for the two children. They both knew how to read and write-- Ryo more so than Akira. As such using their mother’s phones, they kept in touch however they could. It wasn’t until they boarded their private plane that conversation ceased for a while. All for the better, as Ryo was beginning to seem rather tired from all that was going on.

The first picture that Chloe has taken of Ryo was one where the boy was fast asleep against their secretary, Jenny. A soft, cotton blanket wrapped around his shoulders. At first she was worried that Jenny, who had expressed a slight disdain of children, wouldn’t like the presence of the blond. But the red-head seemed more than happy to cater to Ryo. Running her long fingers through his short hair. If Chloe didn’t know any better, she’d say that Jenny exhibited all the behavior of a mother, perhaps one that couldn’t see her baby any longer for one reason or another… 

Eight hours came and went, the personal plane for which they rode in had everything they needed to busy themselves for the time being-- even in-flight wifi. Hiroaki was working on a speech that he was going to give at the Smithsonian museum in about a month, Chloe watched curiously.

Hiroaki was a well respected Archaeologist, known and beloved in his field. He has, so far, made many discoveries-- none of which have ever been truly attributed to him. At the current point he was researching the tribes in the Amazon Rainforest, something that led to a peak interest in the boy they had just recently adopted. Unlike his wife, he had always wanted a son over a daughter, and Ryo seemed to be the perfect one for him. Mysterious history tying back to his research, quiet and polite, handsome and altogether out of the way-- a son that he knew would be more likely to be seen over heard.

Chloe had a much different background. She was the only daughter of the founder’s of a tobacco empire. Her parent’s kingdom was theirs to have, until they died in a tragic car accident. Chloe was the only survivor. As such she inherited the companies and all their benefactors. Frequent exposure to many products from the company starting at a young age led to many illnesses that she couldn’t begin to comprehend at her younger age. Infertility, lung cancer, a myriad of other things. How many times has she been through Chemotherapy by this point? Too many to count… In fact wasn’t that how she met Kaori and Reijiro? Those two are the best of the best in terms of medicine. It’s not a surprise that Hiroaki wanted to save her life by taking her to see them. In the end, it worked, and for the current here and now she was cancer free-- labeled as such for the third time.

She didn’t know how long that would last… Her and her husband knew somewhere inside of them that the disgusting monster that hides in her lungs would come rearing its head up soon enough. Before that, however, she always wanted a child. That was all she wanted in life. Was a baby to raise and love. Would she have preferred a daughter? Yes, she couldn’t lie about that. Did she love Ryo regardless? Without a shadow of a doubt. Her love for her adopted son was growing larger and larger every second, she was certain that her heart would burst soon enough.

When they finally landed at the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, the date was April 2nd and the time was 4 in the morning. It was this date that they decided was going to be the official ‘adoption day’ or ‘birthday’ for Ryo. He didn’t have one before, as such this would have to do.

Chloe walked over to the sleeping boy and picked him up in her arms. She was astonished at how light he was and just how easy it was to carry him. She pressed a kiss to the boy’s head, only stirring him slightly from his slumber before he fell back into the abyss of sleep. Exiting the plane, they made their way to the private section of the airport, dumping out into the public. No airport is ever quiet it seems, not totally. It was quiet enough, however, to not disturb the blond’s sleep.

They stood outside the airport waiting for Jenny to bring the car around. When she did, they happily got in the back where they could coddle their boy more effectively. Sirene was astonished that she was taking the front seat. She was a meager maid after all taken with them to keep facilities clean. Driving on in the darkness, the Asuka household was a good half hour away. When they finally arrived, the two made quick work of getting inside. The child didn’t have much to unpack so they told Jenny to put all of his things in the bland room they set up for him beforehand… 

The room itself was a plain white room that has been vacant since they set it up about four years ago. Since then they have just been waiting for the right child to put into it. Chloe carried her son to their shared bedroom, she had already told Hiroaki that she’d want to sleep with him on his first night home. She got her wish. Curled up under the sheets like a family, the trio slept together. Mother and Father with their son in between them. Truly a heartwarming sight to say the least. One that nobody truly wanted to end… It seemed, to the unaware outsider, that this would be the perfect place for Ryo.

When the sun came up, Ryo found that he was sleeping beside his new mother. He didn’t mind this-- especially not as much as he found it bizzarre. He was still getting used to the idea of having a mother. He half expected to wake up next to Akira, not next to her. His father was nowhere to be seen, Ryo’s first assumption, which was correct, was that he had gone off for work or something of the kind. The blond knew what ‘work’ was, he knew pretty well. He assumed, judging by the clothes that Hiroaki wore that he worked quite frequently. That must be where he’s gone. In a child’s mind the logic used makes complete and perfect sense… In reality there are many fallacies there.

The door opened and a silver cart was wheeled into the room. The scent of bacon and pancakes assaulted Ryo’s nose and he stirred even more in response. He had never had bacon and pancakes before and was now terribly curious. “Good morning, Madam. It’s time for breakfast.” Chloe awoke and sat up, blinking a few times. They had breakfast in bed that day, something that apparently was more common than one would think.

Pancakes, buttered toast, bacon, eggs, and sausage. Ryo managed to try everything, but he wasn’t too fond of the sausage and everything else led to him getting too stuffed to finish off his plate-- except for the bacon. It was delicious, however, and he found himself more than satisfied with his fill. Especially since he got to have apple juice for the first time too… Here’s where he discovered his favorite food for the first time. In the years to come apples would become a staple for Ryo, ironic considering the angel that sleeps within him, dormant and without consciousness.

He looked over to his mother to see she was sipping coffee and taking… pills? He didn’t want to ask, but he knew what pills were. He wondered if maybe his mom was sick or something. He didn’t want her to be sick, but in the end he knew there was nothing he could really do about that.

The remainder of the day after breakfast was spent unpacking his room-- not like there was much to unpack to begin with. “Later today we are going to go shopping at the mall to get you some new clothes and whatnot. I’m sure you’d like that, right?” Ryo didn’t know what a mall was, but he nodded anyways. When his bags were unpacked, him and his mother sat on the sofa in the living room and watched cartoons for the rest of the day. To say that the blond became a fan of Spongebob Squarepants was an easy assumption to make.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ryo's favorite food is an apple, his favorite kids show is spongebob squarepants -- a few other favorites develop during his time with the Asuka family but the first one, the apple, was inspired by the fact that Satan is always associated with an Apple. In his subconscious mind he is likening apples to a fruit he had way back in the Raphael chapter.


	25. Prodigy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryo's extreme intelligence is recognized, as well as a few suspicious behaviors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ryo lives in America, as such the school system here in this fic will be based off the American school system. It'll be slightly different as well to the average public school system as he goes to a private catholic school.

Ryo started kindergarten on September 19th, 2005. Despite the fact he never resonated with the other kids around him, he excelled in every way possible. From math to english, even history was easy for him. Regardless of the topic he seemed to do better than most children his age. He was quiet and wise for his age. A true genius. The other kids paid him no mind as he read stories that they couldn’t even figure out how to read. Stories that were often reserved for second or third graders. They avoided him not intentionally, but just because he wasn’t the social type. When nobody knew the answer to a problem, they would all look to Ryo expectantly, and it was always him that knew the answer.

Was it a surprise then that they encouraged him, sometime in the middle of the year, to skip to the next grade? He began going to classes for first graders, slowly taking those concepts. However it would appear that he already knew what was being taught. When asked about it he would simply reply “I read about it online” to which he wasn’t wrong. He knew about the solar system, he knew about gravity, he knew about multiplication and division, he knew how to read and write complex words. In the end his teachers began referring to him as ‘that prodigy boy’. Because it was a private Catholic elementary school for which Ryo attended, the nuns took a particular interest in him.

They brought it up to his parent’s the idea of perhaps taking him to get an IQ test to see if he was truly smart, or if something like this was the work of the devil. Chloe was raised Catholic, but she never really believed it, and her husband was an atheist through and through. The reason they sent Ryo to this school was more because they wanted him to have a better education and not have to deal with the issues of public schooling. But nevertheless they complied with the nuns’ wishes.

At the end of the school year they took Ryo to fill out an IQ test. When the results came back, Chloe and Hiroaki were astonished by their son’s intellectual prowess. Only six and he’s already smarter than most seventh graders. To test this, they attempted to introduce more difficult topics and subjects to him, believing fully that stagnation would be an end to his intelligence. They needed to keep him interested in learning, make him feel challenged, and in the end show him that settling was not the way to go. 

He started second grade… However it didn’t take long before that too became too easy for him and he was off to third grade. His achievements were rewarded accordingly, he was only six and he was already in third grade, and was doing wonderfully in his new classroom setting. Seeming to grasp things with such ease that it came naturally to him. As such the Asuka family introduced a new piece of technology to their library. A desktop computer for Ryo to use. Contacting the Fudo family, they set it up so that Ryo and Akira could chat whenever they wanted to, given that the both of them are awake.

When the parents would come into the room they’d be astonished to see their little boy not playing games on the desktop computer that they had gotten him, but instead reading pages like wikipedia and whatnot. Filling his brain with more and more knowledge. In the library he would pick out the biggest books he could find and wound up reading through them all within a matter of a few days. At one point Hiroaki stumbled in to find Ryo reading the Oxford Dictionary. When inquired about what he was reading, the child simply replied in his quiet and apathetic voice, “I’m trying to add new and more complex words to my ever growing vocabulary so that way I can sound smarter and weller educated.” Granted ‘weller’ was not a word, but all the concepts were there, and in the end he would learn not to use improper terminology like that. For now however, it was just as endearing as anything else he could do.

As to be expected, Ryo jumped up to the next grade level with no problem. Things seemed to be going well, that was until one day. The first day that Chloe and Hiroaki began to become suspicious of their son’s well being was on June 3rd in 2007 -- a beautiful Sunday morning. It was supposed to be completely normal, nothing to it. Nothing different than the average day. As mentioned before, the Asuka family was never super religious, but due to the recent passing of Hiroaki’s father, Ryo’s grandfather, due to suicide, they decided that perhaps seeking comfort in the same religious community that cared for their son during school would be very helpful.

Everything was fine for a while, until Ryo began to complain about feeling dizzy and having headaches. He would hang onto his mom as the music roared around them. Chloe thought it might just be how loud the music around them was, or perhaps a cold or other ailment blooming inside of him, so she just helped him climb into one of the chairs, hoping that getting him off his feet was the best thing to do. In the end it didn’t make a single difference. When the sermon started and the pastor began preaching about God, Ryo let out a blood curdling shriek.

Everyone in the church turned to look in the direction of the family. The boy was stiff as a board for just a second… A second that felt like an eternity before he collapsed forward and onto the ground. It didn’t take long before his body began to move, seemingly without his doing. Twitching, flailing, jerking, all occurring at the same time. A sickening gurgling sound came from the blond as foam like spittle began to emerge from between his lips. His skin grew pale and ashen, he looked like he was suffocating. “Ryo!” Chloe cried as she got to her feet. Everything was going in slow motion, her whole world was a crawl. What was she supposed to do in this situation. Panic was blooming in her… She had never seen a seizure before… 

“Someone call 9-1-1! He’s having a seizure!” The pastor shouted, moving quickly over. This wasn’t the first time the preacher has seen such an event, he calmed the parents and attempted to keep people as far away as possible. “Clear the doors, please.” Some of the nuns who were present spoke, ushering people away from the doors, either out of them or away from them and into the pews. All the while others were telling people to make way for medical professionals to reach the child.

A minute or two passed and the movement stopped, but Ryo didn’t wake up. Nobody wanted to move, nobody wanted to even breathe. Time was ticking by slowly and it wasn’t until the ambulance arrived that everyone was able to resume motion. It wasn’t until they were in the ambulance with their son that Chloe began to sob. What had happened? Their boy was perfectly fine! Why did this happen? Back at the church, the sermon never resumed and everyone was encouraged to return to their homes with their children. After some consideration, Chloe and Hiroaki decided that perhaps a church was not a good place to take him, perhaps the sounds and lights had triggered something.

After hours of analysis and days of appointments it was disclosed that the seizure was something of a fluke, Ryo had no lasting health effects and he seemed rather healthy in every regard. Save for the simple fact that there was a lack of medical files regarding him and his health. A sigh of relief, but the Doctor did say that just to be safe to wait until he’s older to bring him around those places. After leaving Ryo disclosed to his parents that he saw terrible things during the sermon.

All he felt was unending pain and terror. Zoning out as he was standing there his brain wouldn’t focus on what the pastor was saying, but instead on the visions that his mind was conjuring up. Visions of horrifying things. Demons, monsters, beasts, terrible creatures. He didn’t disclose those terrible creatures. That would be too much.

But he did disclose that he thought he saw a bright light in the sky coming towards him and that he felt arms wrapping around him, telling him that they’d see him again. It was a voice he recognized but not in the sense that it was someone he knew in the here and now, but more like it was someone that he only knows through a dream or nightmare. Someone that he knew was important to him at some point but he couldn’t remember. Ryo’s parents chalked it up to a dream and nothing more. A nightmare before or after the seizure that was triggered by the sermon that was being preached.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ryo's seizure was caused by a brief reawakening as Satan, for a split moment the sermon had knocked a few memories loose. However as they grew older, they vanished once again from his memory. Churches, suffice it to say, are not the best places for someone like him.


	26. Phenomena

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A quick collection of events that occur, some that are mundane, and some that are a little less so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is more of an expository chapter -- there is no real content here, only because none of this stuff was super important, but it is important to note that these events did occur and that they are worth being recognized for future plot points in the story. Also it's to keep track of where we are in Ryo's academic progression.

There was a tense air for a while after the seizure, but it didn’t take too long for things to return back to the way they were before. Ryo continued to excel in academics, something that soothed the worries of his parents. Ryo started fourth grade shortly after the incident, only seven years old and already exemplifying his intelligence. When they found that it wasn’t a challenge for him to do the problems, he jumped up to fifth grade instead. With this continued academic success, it’s no wonder that the media began to hear about the boy who seemed to be the smartest in the world. They attempted to get coverage of the child, but Chloe and Hiroaki were very apprehensive. They’ve seen the psychological damages that fame could bring and didn’t want their son suffering from the same types of wounds. As such life continued on as normal.

He started sixth grade without ever knowing what was happening. All he knew was that he was growing more and more lonely by the day. More frequently would he come home from school and his mother would be asleep in bed talking about how she didn’t feel well… That was frequent, she didn’t feel well a lot. All the while his father would be working until the early hours of the morning. The few times Ryo would be up when he came home due to insomnia, his dad always stumbled in reeking of something awful. He often times had a glass bottle in his head that read ‘budweiser’ or something of that sort. He would have puke on his shirt and a stumble to his gait.

If someone told him that his father was an alcoholic in the making Ryo would not know how to handle such information. He’d be confused, but in all honesty the signs would be there. Regardless of that however, the focus that he saw was that every day he was alone save for the moments that he’d talk to Akira on the Computer.

But Akira was back in Japan now… In fact he was living with the Makimuras now, so the times they would be able to talk would be few and far between. Some days they would just have to be relegated to sending messages back and forth instead. Something that Ryo didn’t like very much at all. It did nothing to help his loneliness.

Time went on like this, and his parents decided that it’d be time to try another IQ test. The results were even more astonishing than before. The doctors had never seen a higher IQ than the one portrayed on said test. They labeled Ryo an official child prodigy. But one of a very unique kind due to the fact that he seemed to not have a specific niche. Most children are a prodigy of a specific field, but the blond seemed pretty well spread across his subjects. Although when asked which subject was his favorite, Ryo would almost always answer ‘History’. 

He moved up to seventh grade without problem, and with this the media’s demand to share this child with the world grew too much to ignore. The Asukas finally decided to allow for Ryo to appear in a public interview on the News. Ryo handled the press extremely well, answering questions politely and honestly. When asked to prove his intellect by solving a series of mathematical equations, he did so within a few seconds. When asked to correct sentences that were purposefully written incorrectly, he did so with only a few seconds to spare. Upon being asked to read directly out of an older college textbook, never did this child stumble over a word or have an issue that wasn’t just his own nervousness playing him up to stumble. In the end it became painfully obvious to the world.

This child was a miracle.

He skipped to eighth grade a little while after this interview. The teachers at his school were astonished, the nuns congratulated him on a job well down and reminded him to stay humble… Ryo didn’t understand what that meant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ryo did appear on national television-- he's in America so it's worth noting that this means that media outlets will probably not leave him alone after this event.


	27. Bloom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryo finds out a very interesting thing about himself, something that carries over from his time of being Satan... he's intersex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: this chapter has explicit depictions of child abuse and violence. Read with caution.

When he realized he was bleeding, Ryo didn’t know what he was supposed to do. His mother ran in when he called out to her, and in that moment there was a sense of finality. The realization that their world was being held together by tiny hair like strings that could snap at any moment. There was nothing exchanged between them other than a simple ‘let’s go to the hospital’. There was more panic than that, but what are you supposed to say when your son is bleeding from in between his legs.

When the results came back the truth was illuminated. Ryo Asuka was intersex… Completely and fully intersex. With both working female and male reproductive organs. He had both a penis and a vaginal canal; testicles and ovaries; the doctors even predicted that he would grow breasts as well. Upon taking a blood test it was discovered that he had more female traits than male ones. His estrogen levels were high, and as such save for the male reproductive organs, it seems Ryo had reverted almost entirely back to a female body. However, when it came to the fertility that he may possess, it's most likely it doesn't exist. What he was experiencing, for someone like him, was nothing more concerning than the average girl getting her period. In fact, that’s what it was. Simply a period. Ryo had noticed that his chest was beginning to ache, that his stomach was hurting, but he never expected they’d be linked to not being solidly a girl or a boy. In the end, however, it explained a lot.

It was a cold day in December when they found out, and while most people would be relieved to find out that the issues of their child weren’t anything to fret over, Chloe was terrified of the prospect. Only for one reason. Ryo’s vision of his father is neutral, he’s never seen him as bad or good. He’s never seen the aggressive behavior he has held inside of him for all these years. His mother, however, has. Often times Hiroaki would fly into a drunken rage and throw things, hurl them across the room, never once, however, did he lay a finger on his wife.

That in of itself would be worrisome for little Ryo, but the true blow is in the fact of Hiroaki’s belief system.

Chloe was able to see her husband’s response to things of this nature when they watched ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ a few years back. The reaction was horrifying in the sense that she hoped he’d never witness such a person in public. Slurs, threats of violence, they never got to finish the movie because he flew on a tangent about how wrong something like what was portrayed was. Chloe was much more open to the facts and ideas, she believed that so long as they were happy than why should she be mad.

She wasn’t into girls, but she already had it cemented into her head that if a girl flirted with her, she’d just politely turn her down and explain that ‘she liked boys’. But even so would probably try to remain on friendly grounds. Asking if she could buy her a drink anyways to hopefully ease the awkward blow that must have caused. She had no issue with the idea of Homosexuality in any way… But her husband was phobic of it all. How was she going to tell them that their 9 year old son was on his first period.

“Mom… I’m sorry…” Her brain snapped into attention, eyes suddenly became focused upon the road before them. Looking over to him through the corner of her eye, not allowing for her focus to tear from the road completely, it suddenly registered to her that the sounds Ryo was making were sobs. He was crying. This was the first time she had seen him cry since they adopted him. He had always been a child of silence. He was quiet, kept to himself, if he cried, which she knew he did, he did it far away from anyone else. Where nobody else could hear him.

He never cried when he was scolded. He never cried when he fell short. He never cried when things didn’t turn out the way he wanted them to. He just never did. But now upon learning something hidden about him, he broke completely. She pulled off onto the shoulder of the highway, turned on her emergency blinkers, and put the car into park before turning to look at her son. Her suspicions were proven correct.

He was sobbing before her, his face in his hands, and tears falling from between his fingers. Immediately her sympathy for him sparked up just like it did that day she decided he was the one they were going to adopt. Wrapping her arms around her son, she pulled him close to her. “Shhhh… It’ll be okay… It’s okay Ryo…” She cooed to him, squeezing the child gently in her grip. “It’s okay if you don’t love me anymore, Mom… I understand…” Her heart ached at the thought and she shook her head. “No honey, sweetie… I could never not love you.” She pulled away from him, smiling down at his tear stricken face. “You’re my little genius. I would do anything to keep you safe, I promised you that.”

Chloe began to brush his tears away, smiling at him all the while. “You’re my little angel sent from above. Perfectly imperfect. God made you special, and you know what, I think you’re even more unique now. It’s not bad to be intersex, Ryo, just means you’re going to be faced with unique challenges. But you’re a smart boy… I’m sure you can figure it out… And if you have problems along the way, I’ll always be here for you.”

Ryo looked up to her, those blue eyes looked so pretty with tears in front of them. She couldn’t deny that, but all the same his tears only hurt her heart more. “How about this… We go home, we’ll get changed, and then let’s go out and visit that candy shop you really like. We can even go to the book store that’s next door too. But, the condition is, you have to cheer up okay? You also have to let me show you how to put on a pad, because I want you to be able to have skills like that too.”

He smiled at her, already he was feeling much better than he had before. A feeling of acceptance. However there was still fear in his heart, a worry that surrounded his father. He wondered if maybe, just maybe, his father wasn’t going to accept him how he is. The thought and prospect terrified him. In the end however, he knew that he’d have to tell his father. After all, it’s hard to hide things like breasts and blood.

The Christmas lights were beautiful as they pulled up to the house. Snow had fallen while they were driving and was beginning to blanket the earth in a nice carpet. It wasn’t anything too bad, but it was enough to give them a white Christmas. It was hard to believe, with news like this sitting in their lap, that it was Christmas Eve.

The first thing that happened was that they went to the bathroom and Ryo’s mom taught him how to wear a pad, and how when he’s on his period he shouldn’t wear normal underwear. He should wear something a little smaller. He understood that and didn’t mind it too terribly much. After he got dressed and ready to leave, and the information was fresh in his mind, him and his mother set off to the store.

Everything was great, him and his mother had a lot of fun. Talking, chatting, and genuinely having a good time. His mother never showed a lick of anxiety over the fact that her husband never replied to the text she sent about the results of their son’s hospital visit. When they got home, however, she had every reason to be anxious about such a thing. Inside she was worried, but outwardly she wouldn’t let Ryo know she was troubled at all. He deserved to recover from the shock of it all. It isn’t every day that someone finds out that they aren’t just one in terms of the medical field after all.

“Hiroaki! What’re you doing!” The mother exclaimed as she stepped between Ryo and her husband. A sharp sting was in the side of Ryo’s head, a blind throbbing that he wasn’t sure caused it. He would have never had guessed it was his father’s fist. A sharp blow to his temple that he couldn’t completely register. Clutching the side of his face he curled in on himself as tears pricked his lower eyelids. “That boy is disgusting!” His father screamed, pointing at the child who lay on the ground. “He can’t control what he is! You can’t criminalize him for something that he’s born with!” She argued back, all the while the child on the floor seemed not to register what was being said. 

It took a bit but Ryo managed to get to his feet and tried to run up to his room. A loud crash filled his skull, the shattering of glass. A sparking pain filled his entire body. Dark splotches scattered across his vision. Something warm flooded down his face. He tried to push himself up, to find that he had landed right onto the staircase. There was that smell again, that smell that his father had whenever he came home late. Except it was so much thicker than before.

Alcohol.

Glass was all around him and he came to realize what happened. “Why would you do that!? Why would you throw that at him!? What the hell is wrong with you!?” She ran over to Ryo and bent down in the glass, not even caring how it cut up her legs. “He’s only nine! How could you do this to your own, nine year old son!?” She screeched, the shouting hurt the boy’s head. “He’s not my son anymore, that, right there, is an abomination.” Everything was a blur after that.

Willing himself to move again, he charged up the stairs, his father chased him all the way pushing Chloe out of his path. Ryo slammed the door shut, and locked it, blood dripping down his pale face. It burned. He didn’t know why but it burnt his skin like acid. There was banging, a terrible banging. “You better open this door right now! Ryo I am your father!” He was terrified, as to be expected. Eventually he decided under the bed was the best place to hide. But first he ripped the window open and forced it to make as loud of a noise as he could get it to.

“You better not be crawling out the window! I swear I’m going to get you and beat your ass!” His father was an intimidating man, even to him now. He was muscular from days digging at archaeological sites, and his posture showed he knew what he was doing.

The blow he gave him was that of a trained fighter. He knew what he was doing, and that fact terrified him. So he hid under his bed, making sure that the covers which hung over his made mattress would conceal him sufficiently. He baited his breath for a while before his father kicked down the door, effectively destroying the doorknob in the process. Tears flooded down his cheeks, but he managed to conceal his breath and cries. “Hiroaki please. Don’t hurt him! I love him! He’s our angel!” Chloe shouted to him as he searched about the room… However, he found nothing but the open window.

He shoved his wife out of the way and ran down the hall and out the back door to go follow his son, whom he believed ran into the woods behind their house. She went to the windowsill and realized there were no tracks back there, other than the tracks for which her husband had made himself. He must be too drunk and angry to notice. “Ryo… I know you’re in here… P-Please come out…”

At the gentle coaxing of his mother, he slipped out from where he was hiding, sobbing all the while. He felt faint and this blood was really starting to burn. “Oh my angel… Honey…” She took his face into her hands before she shook her head. “Let’s get you bandaged up, oh my god.”

Ryo hoped that something would change from this but nothing did. He got patched up, the glass was extracted from him, his face was cleaned-- although his mother was baffled at the fact that there were small acid burns on his cheeks where blood used to be. She shrugged it off, they were too small to really notice. They could have been from anything… All the while she feared for her husband’s return.

Ryo hid in his room after he got a message to Akira saying he wouldn’t be online. There was a family emergency. What a lie… He wished he could tell him, but he just couldn’t. Not if Akira was possibly going to react in the same way his father did.

That night, as he lay awake behind the door of the guest bedroom, one that had a lock, he heard his mother and father arguing downstairs. Arguing about whatever terrible thing they were shouting about. He hated the idea that he started all of this conflict. But then again what exactly did he do to cause it all. In the end it became obvious… Nothing here would change… His mother was, in a way, terrified of her husband, and as such was just as trapped as he was in this situation.

Ryo was smart, but he didn’t know the first thing to do in a toxic situation like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ryo is intersex, just like he was when he was Lucifer. Also worth noting that just like angels, he does have acidic blood. But since his body believes that it's a human, it shows as red instead of black.


	28. 'Treatment'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryo seeks 'treatment' for being intersex. Treatment he doesn't want.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: There are explicit mentions of rape and sexual assault in this chapter. It is not to be portrayed in a light way, this is an actual crime that the author does not agree with. However it is an integral part to Ryo's backstory and an explanation as to why he is the way he is. Rape is, and never will be, okay in any regard.
> 
> Please read this chapter with caution and your own well being in mind.

Ryo hated that woman… He hated her so much he wished she would get hit by a truck and that her brains would pain the asphalt many shades of red. He felt violated… Something didn’t feel right about this ‘treatment’ but what was he going to say. He couldn’t tell anyone anything. He was terrified of what his father would do, and even more so he didn’t want to make his mother even more upset. No conclusion was reached… His father wanted a boy, his mother wanted a girl, Ryo didn’t want to be either. He just wanted to be who he was… Left alone without changing at all. The concept of changing something so integral to his identity as his gender without his okay seemed wrong. But in the end he wasn’t the one that made the decision in that regard.

He could still feel the fingers of that doctor feeling all around him. A shiver ran through his spine. Something wasn’t right with her… He knew what sexual assault was but he didn’t want to accept the fact that perhaps that’s what was going on. But that was the only thing his brain was going to. But if he didn’t do anything to stop his father than what would he do to stop his doctor. When she asked him  _ ‘are you sexually active’ _ as though he was older than ten years old, he didn’t know how to answer. He just said no, because in the end it’s not like he had a choice.

If someone told him that he was being adopted by a father who would rape him and molest him he wouldn’t believe them… Now he still couldn’t believe it. Yet the marks were there, the pain was there. It started with violence. He would have to hide from his father lest he risk getting beaten. But soon the violence escalated and escalated until it became something so hideous that it made the blond wonder if he was even human. If there was any part of his body worth the resources it consumed.

Now as he sits in the back seat of the car, knowing full well what that hungry look in his father’s eyes entailed, he couldn’t help but pray that a truck t-bones their car. That some strange event occurs that causes them to never get home… Or at least for his father to never get home. But that never happened. Ryo went to his room quietly, finding himself falling onto his bed and sobbing as he heard the sound of his mother inquiring about the wine his father was about to drink. That’s how it always went.

He’d get home, be upset and reminded about how disgusting his ‘son’ was, get drunk, and then come up and do the heinous crime. By the time his father came in to fulfill that part of the routine, Ryo’s head was aching from tears, his body was weak from the ‘medicine’, and his will was all but shattered. He had learned that it was easier not to resist. The bruises around his neck, all over his hips, and on his rapidly growing breasts were proof of that fact. It didn’t take long for his clothes to be on the floor and for screams of agony to escape his pretty lips.

When all was said in done, sticky white stained his legs, stomach, and the bed. He found himself sobbing once more as he stared at himself in the mirror. How did his life come to this. His hair was growing out… He figured he’d keep it like that. If his father wanted a son but was going to turn around and do things like that to him than he wasn’t going to give him a son. He pushed himself off the bed, only to feel weak. His body hated how rough everything was… Regardless he would have hated it, but it would have been nicer if he didn’t feel his legs give out every time he wanted to stand.

Walking over to the mirror he stared at his body.  _ ‘You’re hideous’ _ The words flooded in.  _ ‘Ugly bitch’ _

_ ‘You should just kill yourself’ _

_ ‘End your miserable existence’ _

_ ‘Mama’s boy’ _

_ ‘Nobody loves you and nobody ever will’ _

_ ‘You’re such a coward that you can’t even tell your best friend’ _

It all happened so quickly. Pain flared through his clenched fist as it collided with his mirror, shattering it all around him. He felt the shards cut into his skin and face as it splayed outwards in a wave of glass. He wanted it all to stop. In the end he collapsed to his knees wailing in agony. His mother didn’t even know that this was happening, and he didn’t want her to know. He didn’t want her to know that such things were happening to him because she didn’t deserve it. She didn’t deserve the pain that it would bring her. She deserves to be happier than that.

How was this going to fix his ‘problem’. Why was it even considered a ‘problem’ to begin with? Isn’t he perfect how he is? He pressed his head against the shattered mirror, not even caring that blood was beginning to coalesce around his features. Not even caring that it cut into his skin. All he cared about was the ache in his chest and the pain between his legs. A pain that he wished he could forget.

It was while he was in the bathroom that night, cleaning himself up, that he realized what he was going to do. He would pretend as though none of it ever happened, that he was just blissful and completely happy. He would pretend that the issue at hand didn’t exist. All the while he would undermine his father in every way he could. If someone told him to tell a police officer he’d simply say  _ ‘I’m too scared’ _ . In the end he was terrified. What if nothing happens? His father would kill him if he found out he was snitching. The threat has already been placed on his head.

_ ‘I’ll make sure you die a horrible death if you tell a soul about any of this.’ _

In the end that’s what it was wasn’t it. A twisted game of revenge… A game that he didn’t want to play anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder: The author does NOT condone Rape. It is a sick and twisted act, especially with a minor as it is portrayed in this chapter. Nobody should have to go through this.


	29. Daughter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryo goes out shopping with Jenny after receiving heartbreaking news about his mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> His mother was diagnosed with Lung Cancer at the age of six. She was clean for a while but then at the age of thirteen relapsed. Once more she became clean once more became sick and kept going through the motions. This is the fourth time she has been diagnosed, she's been insanely lucky up until now. To continue on this however, this time is different because they caught the cancer rather late.

_ ‘I’m so sorry, Mr Asuka, but your wife she… Her lung cancer is back again. It’s really late into its development but we may still have time.’ _

The words rang through his head on repeat over and over again. He didn’t fight this time when his father came into his room. He was too depressed and couldn’t find the strength to resist. Of course his father didn’t like his stillness, as such fresh bruises were blooming on his breasts, stomach, and hips once again. A painting of Jesus hung on the left wall next to the door, his eyes were fixated on it the entire time. He wondered if those tears in the painting’s eyes were real for just a moment. As if he would touch it and it’d come off on his fingertips.

He rolled over, facing the right wall where his window was. He remembered long ago when he made his father believed he crawled out of it to escape him. That was only a year ago and it feels like an eternity. Curling up in on himself, Ryo began to sob quietly. He didn’t know what to do anymore. His entire life felt like it was falling apart. Maybe it was. His entire room, a beautiful array of colors decorated it, pastel blues and pinks, now felt gray and hideous. It was almost as if he was seeing everything through a black and white film. The colors were there, he could identify them, but no longer did they bring him joy. No longer did they truly register in his mind.

He pushed himself up by his hands, feeling the sting between his legs and the squelch of moisture, he didn’t truly care however. Just let it all run by him. His brain was in a fog that he couldn’t break out of. Every move made him feel as though he was wading through a pool of jell-o. As he rose to his feet he found the pain was dulled by the sheer heaviness he felt. Before he would have felt resentment, but now… 

The bathroom was a nice place to hide. He found this out quite quickly. Steam bellowed around him as he let the shower water rinse over his form. He stared at his reflection in the metal of the faucet, deformed and twisted. He shifted, watching his features shift and change… That’s how he felt. Deformed, ugly, and lost. He wanted somebody, anybody, to tell him that it was going to be okay. But the only person who could was asleep in her bed, recovering from the day’s chemotherapy.

_ RyoAsuka: Akira -- my mother is going to die. _

_ AkiraBunny: What do you mean Ryo? _

_ RyoAsuka: She has cancer. _

The skype conversation really hammered home the fact of the matter. Telling Akira that his mother was going to die because of some incurable disease was harder on him than it probably was on Akira, but knowing that he had at least one person willing to listen was at least one weight off of him. All the same, the real issues bothering him-- the rape, being intersex, the fact that he recently tried to kill himself by running into a busy city street… All of it, he couldn’t find the courage to tell him.

“You’re such a coward…” He whispered to his reflection as tears coalesced around his lower eyelashes before breaking away and joining the rest of the water that was flooding through the basin of the tub. He wanted to be brave but he was terrified. He was terrified of what would become of him. He wanted Akira to see him as strong, he wanted his father to stop hurting him, but all the same he was just too damn scared to do anything. He was just a child after all… What could he possibly do. 

He took the shampoo from one of the shelves in the shower and began to wash his now long blond hair. He let the suds run down his shoulders and around his bruised breast. In the end he had nothing he could do.

He had decided a long time ago that to spite his father he’d become a daughter over a son-- but now that he knew his mother was on death row just waiting for the angel to take her, he’d become committed to the idea that for her he’d become the daughter she always wanted. He would do his hair, makeup, wear skirts and dresses, he’d do everything in his power to make his mother’s dream come true. Many people would probably scoff and think that he was foolish or stupid to make such a decision, but his mind wasn’t sound. There was a fault in logic, but because he was in a state of complete and utter delusion he couldn’t make any better bridge between truth and fact.

He didn’t realize that his mother loved him just how he was. She didn’t care how different he was or how similar he was to the boy that she adopted. Intersex, male, female, straight, gay, it didn’t matter to her. He was her angel. But in the end, he felt that he owed her something. Somehow the idea of kindness and reciprocation has been imprinted into his brain. He was indebted to her somehow. He didn’t know how much, or even for what reason, but he knew he was somehow.

That night Jenny had been asked to take him out shopping, he needed new clothes for school. Jenny was always supportive of him, no matter his decision she’d back him up, regardless of his father’s wishes. Somehow she had a way with his father, he would never fire her regardless of what she did and he’d never treat her poorly. Somehow she was absolved of all error. Ryo figured she was just charismatic or persuasive, but regardless how she stayed out of his wrath wasn’t much of his care. What was is the fact that he was going to fill his wardrobe with girl clothes for the coming school year.

The mall was mostly empty that day, he didn’t feel like dealing with people anyways. Ryo always prefered malls over the other places that his parents shopped. Less designer clothes and more normal clothes.

He picked out all sorts of beautiful dresses and outfits. Skirts, tank tops, all sorts of things. He was even fitted for a bra. New makeup was added to his inventory. He had even acquired his school uniform for High School. Nobody but the primary staff at his school knew of his odd gender issue, as such, nobody would even notice that the hidden boy Ryo Asuka grew up to be one of the prettiest girls in the school.

A new curling iron and straightener, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, perfume, by the end of the day he had filled the car with stuff for his new identity. Everything was going as planned. “Jenny?” He began as she got into the driver’s seat, the red-head looked over to him, her big blue eyes curious. “You would never hate me would you?” Jenny had been taking care of him since he was very little. Ever since he came to this house, it was her that was there for him. He loved his mother, and she definitely did her job, but Jenny was a sort of nanny for him. He felt an attachment to her.

“I could never hate you… Never in a million years, Master Ryo.” He hated when she called him that, but had tried to get her to stop. She was so stuck in that mindset, and he could never understand why. Regardless, hearing that she would remain fond of him, he smiled. “I know things are hard for you right now, Young Master. But I promise you, as time goes on, they will become easier for you. You are capable of amazing things, whether you know it or not.” They called Jenny a psychic for this reason. She had never witnessed his pain or insecurities outside of the off question… And yet she seemed to know exactly what he was thinking in his head.

Psychic Jenny… That name felt familiar to him but he didn’t know why. “Thank you… What’s for dinner tonight?” Ryo asked softly, his tone seemingly distant. “Broiled Lobster tails with pan seared salmon and rice. I will be serving Petrus Wine with it, however you will have apple juice instead.”

More wine… More and more wine. His mother would like that, but his father would only become worse and worse for it. “Thank you.” He answered half heartedly. Jenny knew that Hiroaki was a drunkard, but all the same she couldn’t do anything about it. Ryo stared out of the window, he heard the keys to the car jingling in her hand. The engine started, the cool air blew against his face from the Air Conditioning, a pleasant release from the humid Maryland heat outside.

He jumped a bit as he felt Jenny’s fingers run through his hair. She was always so much more forward with him, he never minded it. Turning to her he couldn’t help but find himself falling victim to the emotions beginning to boil over inside of him. She sensed this, her ‘psychic powers’ working as they did. She pulled Ryo close, only furthering his inability to hold back his tears. They came spilling forth as sobs wracked his form. She didn’t say anything, just let her fingers ghost over his back.

_ ‘Satan… I’m so sorry this has to happen to you… Me and Sirene are trying so hard to keep you safe but… Dammit, Xenon, hurry up and awaken more demons…’  _ She thought to herself. She wished she could just awaken the angel within him, but found that was impossible. No, she couldn’t do that. She had lived through this timeline enough to know that such an early awakening, when his soul wasn’t strong enough to withstand the pressures of being the most powerful mortal entity in this universe, one with such a dark history, would only cause him to fizzle out like a light. Disappearing and triggering the ‘great restart’ once again as Uriel is forced to turn back the clock again.

For now he’d just have to trudge through the muck and grime over and over again. Jenny wanted this time to be the last time he went through these motions. She wanted this to be the last time that he’d hurt again. He didn’t deserve what was coming to him, and when he awakens will he choose to take his own life before it starts anew?

He’d successfully end the cycle, but that wouldn’t give him solace. He’d be trapped in Hell, a deep slumber holding him for the rest of eternity, wandering about his own twisted mind filled with endless suffering. He wouldn’t be given peace… Just the knowledge that physically he wasn’t hurting. That’s hardly better than what he is receiving now. Just a little less physical pain.

Jenny broke the embrace and began driving away back home, her mind playing over all the things that were told to her through the years.

_ ‘The nuns told me that Satan has horns and cloven hooves… I don’t think so. Isn’t he supposed to be God’s most beautiful creation?’ _

_ ‘The kids at school keep throwing rocks at me, they say I’m the devil… I don’t know why, I didn’t do anything to them!’ _

_ ‘Mom calls me her angel, but I don’t feel very angelic… I feel like nothing better than a lowly demon crawling around in the lowest point of Hell.’ _

_ ‘I keep having a dream that I’m burning alive, someone’s holding me, but I can’t remember who they are… All I know is I love them very much… I knew them at some point but…’ _

It concerned her to hear such things but all the same, he was a smart child. His soul older than this variant of the human race, older than all of the history books that have ever existed on this rock… There are stars younger than his soul. It shouldn’t be a surprise that he’d remember some things. But it still worried her. If he remembers the wrong things than that’s the end of it. Third eye opened and awakened.

She had to bide her time carefully. He must remain asleep for as long as she can keep him there. Even if that means that almost every night he is assaulted by his father and that every day he makes a new incision upon that beautiful flesh of his.

They pulled up to the house and the two of them collected bags from the back. Ryo didn’t mind helping, it made both of them get inside the house faster. Walking in, both of them recoiled at the pungent air of alcohol which permeated the room. They walked in slowly into the tattered house, Ryo peeked into the large living room to see that his father was passed out on the floor. Empty bottle in one hand, unlit cigar in another, vomit all over his front. The blond winced before running up the stairs to his room, Jenny in toe.

He began to put things away with Jenny’s help, and soon enough he was changing into one of his new outfits. Wearing a dress felt so nice and freeing. Putting hair clips in his long blond hair was a welcome sight. Putting makeup and perfume on how he taught himself so long ago only reinforced it all. Soon enough, as he looked in the mirror, he was able to see more life in his blue eyes than he had in ages. For once he felt beautiful.

He approached his mother’s door, knocking on it lightly. A meager ‘come in’ greeted him and he pushed open the door. His mother was awestruck upon seeing him. Her eyes widened before a grin spread across her face, although the confusion was evident in her eyes. “Oh my goodness Ryo, you look so beautiful.” Chloe told him, a weak laugh on her lips. “Thanks mom… I… I thought you’d like this dress. Doesn’t it fit me.”

The dress in question was pure white, it had a skirt that went down to his knees and a belt around his waist. A little pocket was on the breast. Puffed out sleeves, translucent, cinched up around his wrists making him look more dream like and wispy. On the back of the dress a pair of wings were embroidered. All and all he looked positively angelic. Especially with the feather hair clip in his hair and the white heels he wore.

“The kids at school won’t know what hit them, all the boys will be wobbly in the knees. Positively beautiful.” Hearing his mother’s compliments made his life worth living.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter plays into the future Ryo upholds. Ryo ends up becoming somewhat genderfluid in the future. While he is more prone to use masculine pronouns, it is really only because of the fact that Akira uses them. He is known to wear dresses and suits both, and loves to be both feminine and masculine at different times. He is not fixed to one identity per say. If it was up to him, he'd just let people identify him however they pleased.


	30. Among the Trees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryo's hatred for humans begins to grow and manifest as more of humanity's terrible hungers come into focus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Once again this chapter also covers the topic of Rape. This is the last chapter that does this. Every subsequent chapter which mentions or alludes to Ryo's trauma will allude to it vaguely. Ryo is a secretive person however, and despite this sort of thing being in the back of his mind at all times, it will not come up in story super often because not only does it not define his character (he's not just a rape victim after all) but it also isn't something he'd willingly bring up in or out of conversation regardless of how comfortable he is with the person he's speaking to.

Reds and blues danced across his vision, he was fading in and out of consciousness quickly. In and out, in and out, a blurred existence. He couldn’t remember his name, or where he was, all he remembered was he was somewhere he shouldn’t be. He was someone he shouldn’t be. “We found her!” A gruff voice shouted, low but relieved. The crunching of autumn leaves under boots filled his head, just barely audible through the wailing sirens that were originating from the flashing red and blue lights.

“Don’t worry, dear, we got you.” A woman said. His cold body was wrapped in something soft as he was lifted off the ground. He felt his hair snag upon branches and twigs, but in the end he hadn’t the energy or the will to free himself. They had to do it instead. But who was ‘they’? He wasn’t sure… Nothing was sure as his mind drifted into the deep abyss of unconsciousness.

When he came back, he found himself in a hospital room. Stark white walls brought back memories of horrible times and, out of instinct, he found that he subconsciously began to embrace himself. He was looking for any sort of comfort he could find in the situation. Memories of ‘treatment’ and ‘tests’ that were best left in the recesses of his mind. After a while the sterilized air and the white walls became natural to him.

He let his body relax into the mattress and stared off into space. What had happened to him? He couldn’t remember, but he did have a throbbing headache which pounded into his skull. Where was he before, those people that found him were obviously police, but where was he? Slowly he tried drudging the memories back up, but the most he would see were three boys and the autumn leaves. He remembered walking with these boys into the woods… he didn’t like these boys, they were creeps, so why was he with them?

None of it made sense, and yet all the while the truth nor the panic wasn’t setting in. After a while, the door to his room opened, he didn’t turn to look for he could see out of the corner of his eye who it was. His mother with a police officer and a doctor. “Ryo?” Chloe gasped, he could hear the residual sob in her voice. “Oh my angel, you’re awake. Oh god… Thank god…” She spoke as she ran over to his bedside. It felt strange to be embraced, but he didn’t say anything. It was almost as though his entire body was numb.

“Do you remember anything that happened?” The question seemed strange, but all the same he had to just shake his head. He didn’t. “All I remember were three boys… From my class… They’re creeps… I remember not feeling right and being escorted into the woods… I remember…” He trailed off, almost as though he was hitting a wall. Something was stinging in his chest. He didn’t want to remember.

“The three creeps, what were their names?” The officer asked. It was that man from before, the one with a gruff voice. He was a tall African American fellow, he looked like the type that had both brain and brawn. The type that was probably the star quarterback on his high school varsity football team back in his hayday. Ryo felt overall intimidated by him, but not in the sense that he was afraid that he would be hurt, more in the sense that his presence made him seem larger than life in a way. Quietly the blond answered, listing the full names of the three boys off. He couldn’t understand why, but he did it anyways.

Later it would hit him like a truck.

It was while he was in his bedroom that the memories seized back and struck him like a tsunami. At four in the morning, he fell into a deep pit of memories which dragged him into a panicked flashback state. He let out a howl so loud that his mother and father woke up genuinely believing there to be a banshee in the house. Jenny and Sirene got there first, bursting through the door. “Young Master!” Sirene cried. 

The two ladies knelt beside his form which was curled up tightly in the corner. Hyperventilating and panicked.

_ ‘Disgusting!’ _

_ ‘What are you? A shemale?’ _

_ ‘Take pictures, we’ll make sure all the nuns see it!’ _

_ ‘That’s just not natural!’ _

_ ‘Give us a good time and we’ll make sure this never sees the light of day.’ _

Ever since Ryo began dressing as a woman, portraying himself as female, he’s received a myriad of attention. Some negative, some positive. This was no different. However never in a million years would he think that it’d go so far. Never did he think he’d be assaulted and then blackmailed. Regardless of how he wore his skirts, or how he occasionally wore a crop top or tight fitting shirt, regardless of how provocative he’d dress on scorching hot days, never once did he consent to any sort of conduct. However a no often would suffice but this time… On a day where he was covered head to toe in clothing and wasn’t even wearing a lot of makeup, he was attacked.

He was terrified as he clung onto Jenny, and his mother when she came into the room. “It’s his fault, he decided to dress like a slut.” Hiroaki stated, his tone critical. “What the fuck are you talking about!? She was dressed head to toe in fall clothes, you know how easy she gets cold! You don’t really think she tempted those boys do you?” Chloe was fuming, but that wasn’t what Ryo wanted to hear. “Look at him, Chloe, he’s a temptress through and through.” That word ‘temptress’ made him want to vomit.

“Just leave…” Ryo began to speak. “What did you say?” His father inquired, raising a brow. He never heard him speak out like that, especially towards him. The blond was always submissive in that way, he seemed to be more likely to roll over. But something changed… 

“Just leave! Get the fuck out! Leave me alone! Nobody wants you here! I hate you! I hate you and everyone else on this fucking planet! If the rapture does come I hope I get to watch every human burn in hell!” Was it the right thing for him to begin screaming at his father, cussing and in hysterics, most likely not. But did it achieve what he wanted, which was his father to leave. Yes it did, but not before Hiroaki struck him across the face. “Don’t you ever talk to me like that again, young man.” He growled.

“Young woman.” Ryo correctly just as harshly, to which his father raised his hand to strike again only to feel Chloe grab his wrist. “If you strike him one more time I swear to god you will be out on the street within the day.” His mother still didn’t know what was happening between him and his father, and she never would, but at least Ryo knew that if she did know she’d have his back. That was a relief, but not enough so to settle the pain still blooming in his chest. Hiroaki stormed out leaving all of them packed together in the corner of the younger’s bedroom.

“I’m sorry mom…” Ryo spoke, breaking down, tears streaming down his face as sobs sent earthquakes through his form. “Oh, Ryo…” She immediately embraced him, letting him set his head on her shoulder. “It’s not your fault, you couldn’t have done anything. Please remember that… You’re still so beautiful, regardless of what happened. Not only that but I want you to know, really know, that no matter what happens I will be here for you.” Chloe explained to him, running her fingers through his hair. “B-But your sick.” He retorted. “Sweetie, no cancer or disease will keep me from being your mom.”

When Ryo managed to calm down, Chloe left. Moments later they heard her screaming at Hiroaki downstairs. They were fighting… Arguing. About him. When Sirene and Jenny were about to leave, he reacted differently, for he was quick to stop them. “Please… Can you stay with me for the night… I don’t want to be alone…”

It probably sounded childish to them, to say that he was afraid the boys would find where he lived and strike again. He knew in the logical part of his mind that such an event would never happen, but in the emotional part, the fact of the matter was that they probably didn’t get all that they wanted, they probably weren’t satisfied, and as such would come back over and over again until they were. 

Sirene and Jenny exchanged glances, sorrow in their expressions. How awful it was to see Satan like this… They hated it. “Of course young master, just let us get into our bed clothes okay? We will be right back.” Sirene explained as the two of them walked out. While it was true their clothing wasn’t suitable for sleep, that’s not the real reason they stepped away. No, they had to have a word with each other.

“Jenny is this really necessary?” Sirene inquired as she unbuttoned her uniform and began to pull her long, white hair out of the bun that rested atop her head. “Sadly, yes… We can’t interfere with Lord Satan’s life as a human. We can be here to protect him, but unless an emergency occurs, the most we can do is sit and wait. Even if that means watching him hurt over and over again…” Jenny told her, looking down to her feet. The two women stood in silence. “God, where is Amon when you need him…” They both knew the answer to Sirene’s question. Amon was slumbering, waiting until Ryo calls him to this mortal realm. In the end, that’s always how it went.

“It’s just not fair. What did he do wrong!? I don’t understand!” Sirene spoke after a long period of silence, she had gotten her night clothes on but was now in tears. Jenny frowned, she cried all her tears already and had none to shed with the demon bird… But all the same, she understood the pain she felt.

Jenny was like a mother to Satan… Sirene was like a sister from Satan’s viewpoint. They both knew, however, Sirene’s true feelings for the angel.

“He didn’t do anything, not intentionally at least. He went against the norms of angel kind. He went against the natural flow of Heaven. Because of that they punished him… Is it just? Probably not. But what do we know? Just like we struggle to understand humans we will always struggle to understand angels. At least we can merge with humans and get a glimpse into their minds… Angels, however, outside of Lord Satan, will always be an enigma.” Jenny remembered the first day she met him deep within the jungle. He was so beautiful and energetic, she could feel it.

He had such hope and innocence in his eyes. He was intelligent, powerful, but altogether enthralled. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t want to kill him at first, but that blood thirst has since evaporated. Now the only feeling she holds for him is a mother’s love. “I wish Amon was here too…” The redhead finally stated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To put some more explanation for those who forgot -- Sirene used to have romantic feelings for Satan even though Lucifer essentially stuck her in the friendzone and made her his sister figure. Jenny used to be his motherly figure, and still retains that sort of behavior. Also because I feel the need to add this as a reminder so it's not completely forgotten, Akira is a reincarnation of Tabris with some extra soul matter added onto him.


	31. Bloody Bathwater

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryo's hatred comes to a head as he dedicates his life to pushing against his trauma and his loathing to make it a goal of his to get revenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Just like the chapters before it, this chapter talks about triggering topics. Except this time it's about bullying, harassment, self-harm, and suicide. Read with caution. (Also apologies this chapter is so short -- there wasn't much more to cover here but I needed to explain the after effects of everything happening)

_ “Disgusting whore!” _

_ “God’s Mistake!” _

_ “Where’s your cloven hooves, devil!” _

_ “Go back to Hell where you belong!” _

_ “It’s just trying to get into your pants!” _

The words rang through his head as he hid in the woods behind his school, the same woods that led to this entire situation to begin with. He sobbed as he spoke to his mother on the phone, blubbering like a child. He had run out of the school against the teacher’s and nun’s wishes. Bruises were beginning to bloom on his legs, sides, and face from the bibles they would throw at him. Rancid food that was in the waste bins stained his clothes, clung to his skin, and dangled from his hair.

“They took pictures of me, mom! They took pictures and spread it around the school! I don’t understand… I don’t know why it should matter… Why does everyone hate me for being born the way I am!?” He couldn’t wrap his mind around it. He’s never had consensual sex before, and wasn’t planning on having sex with anyone. There was only one person in the world that he can say he had a crush on, and that was and still is Akira. He doesn’t go to parties, doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke, doesn’t pop pills, none of that. He does everything right, but because he was born different, a different that shouldn’t matter to anyone regardless, he was being persecuted.

It didn’t make sense to him. Why was he called ‘Satan’, why was he being told to ‘return to Hell’, why were the nuns and teachers and students pushing him around in such a way? What did he do wrong? 

Was it not Jesus, the same man that they hold upon a pedestal, who said to love everyone regardless of how different they are to you? If that’s the case than why do these hypocrites exist? In his heart, he didn’t blame religion or God for the way they acted, no… that couldn’t be it. He’s read through the Bible countless times on boring rainy days, he is more than aware of what it says. It’s the people who twist it… It’s humanity that distorts it beyond belief. He wouldn’t hate Heaven or Hell, no demon or angel could cause something like this… No, he would loathe humanity.

Angels and Demons don’t exist anyways, not in his mind. They aren’t real, just stories to try and keep people in line. But when a story becomes an obsession, awful things happen. People become terrible, they hurt you and they hurt others. Just like they hurt him. They wanted a scapegoat and they got one.

Chloe came to the school shortly after and went in with Ryo, holding his hand while she screamed at every person in the main office. She then declared she would press harassment charges, before leaving, not taking the time to even hear what anyone was saying. Part of the blond was happy, but the other part of him was terrified. What would happen to him now? Would he have to transfer schools? Would he have to start over? All his hard work, was it going to go to waste?

After the events as they came to light, Ryo did in fact leave that school. His parents went to court to bring the members of the school to justice, and not only that but to also give closure to their daughter. In the end the court ruled that it was inhumane how the school was being operated. No ‘birth defect’ of any kind should ever be justification for descrimination of any student and as soon as the photographs of the blond began circulating they should have immediately been reported to the police. The students that raped him, who were already in custody and awaiting trial, were now getting additional charges added to their sentences.

Chloe hoped this would be enough to help her daughter recover from everything. A private school that was without religion. One with a much more strict set of grounds for harassment and bullying. One that happily accommodated Ryo for his differences. Giving him the opportunity to get dressed for gym in the nurse’s office and acting in accordance to his wishes to be referred to as a female. In the end only the nurse, school councilor, and the principle were aware of Ryo’s intersex identification.

Something that would help quite a bit, but just a relocation into a better place wouldn’t just solve all of his problems. The trauma was still there, the lingering wound remained. Some days he’d be fine, even seem somewhat happy, but other days he’d be locked away for hours on end only to reemerge with some new cut or bandage that wasn’t there before. He’d retreat back into his shell like a clam.

Chloe had a hunch about what her daughter was doing, but she had no way to prove it. Not until she found it first hand. Seeing her daughter in the bath, half lucid from blood loss, really hit home for her. This was her angel, and seeing him hurt so much was unacceptable. She felt almost foolish, almost as though she was a horrible mother for not noticing, but in the end she also felt relieved that she had gotten there when she did.

The intersex treatment, if it could be called that, stopped. They stopped taking him to see that doctor that made him so uncomfortable. Instead Chloe, without even the permission of her husband, began taking Ryo to a therapist. PTSD, Depresion, Anxiety, they were all conditions that they believed he most likely had.  _ “She’s not just a victim of his attackers,” _ the therapist said.  _ “But she’s a victim of himself…” _

He hated that word… Victim. He didn’t want to be seen as just a ‘victim’ because that’s not what he is. He is not defined by the situations he’s been through. He’s not brave because of the fact that he pushed on despite the fact that people have committed atrocities.

This does not make him special, it does not make him better than anyone else, in his mind to call him a victim was to put him on the same pedestal that got him here in the first place. He doesn’t need sympathy, he doesn’t need someone to give him comfort, he needs, instead, for someone to stand behind him and cheer him on. Either that or for humanity to just go ahead and kill themselves off.

Cases like this occur every day. Every single day someone else goes through what he went through. Everyday someone goes through something worse than what he went through. As much as he wants to say that humanity can eradicate such needless aggression, he knows that’s not true. He knows that no matter what happens, humans will remain just as terrible as they were at the beginning of time.

For that he can never forgive them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some people may be asking why I decided to give Ryo such a dark backstory. Is it because I wanted to run off of the 'tragic villain' train that everyone is so quickly running to for a cheap way to make their villains more sympathetic? No... No it is not. In the end this story isn't supposed to make you side with Ryo or Satan in the ordeals that play out. He's just as bad as everyone else in many ways. Is he a rapist? No. Is he a murderer that wiped out the entire planet? Yes. Does he learn from his mistakes? Yep. Does that change much of anything? No. His backstory as it is isn't so much to give people a desire to love him and side with him and sympathize with him, but more of a way to make people see why he behaves the way he does. It's not spontaneous that he hates humans. He doesn't just wake up as Satan and decide 'oh I'm going to kill everyone'. That's not what happens in this story. It also explains why Akira is the only human he's willing to spare. In his mind, Akira is the only on left living that is remotely worthy of being spared.
> 
> Ryo is not supposed to be a sympathetic and tragic villain -- he's not even supposed to be an antagonist in the original Devilman Series (Go Nagai has stated that he is in fact the story teller). He's supposed to be a person that made some stupid decisions due to a fractured mind. He does terrible things that he thinks are justified, but in the end learns his lesson and attempts to reach an ending where he can keep the knowledge that he's learned. He's not a tragic villain... He's just a living being with free will. It's up to you to decide whether or not you choose to forgive him or choose to forsake him.


	32. Happiest Place on Earth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryo, a senior in high school now, goes on his senior trip only to receive an unexpected travel companion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ryo has skipped so many grades by this point that he's now 12 years old and a senior in High School, getting ready to graduate and go off to college. He already has been accepted by countless colleges and is ready to go for a degree in archaeology and history. So far the only other friend he has that isn't living with him and isn't Akira is Misty Arras

“Miss Asuka? There’s been a change in seating on the plane. Follow me to your actual seat, please.”

Ryo looked over to the flight attendant, blinking a few times, before turning back to Misty. “I guess I’ll see you in Florida, Ryo.” The red-head giggled, her messy tangle of red curls made her look wild, but in a fun and goofy way. “I guess so… Remember what I told you about being airsick.” The blond joked back. “Yeah to vomit into Josh’s hood. Got it.” They giggled, as girls do, before Ryo turned away. “What, it’s the best way to get a boy!” Ryo chimed. “Says the girl who has never had a boyfriend!” Misty shot back. No later than that did the two stick their tongues playfully out at each other before going their separate ways on the plane. 

How strange… He could have sworn he sat next to Misty -- they always sat next to each other on everything. His last name was Asuka and her’s was Arras, which put them together due to the alphabet system. He looked at the ticket in his hand, he requested to keep the used ticket for his memory book, something he began keeping due to his occasional blotchy memory. A side effect of the medication he was taking for his PTSD. He didn’t want to forget anything about his Senior Trip. However looking at the ticket he could see the seat. It was the one right next to Misty’s, no doubt about it. But if that’s the case than why are they taking him up to first class?

“Surprise!”

Ryo let out a cry of surprise as he felt arms wrap so tightly around his neck that he thought he was going to suffocate. Panic filled him for a moment before he realized what was happening.

His eyes fogged up with a stinging fluid, his nose tingled, was that really--? No it couldn’t be… 

“A-Akira?” His voice was a quiet little squeak, so timid as he felt the other twelve year old hug him tight. “I missed you, Ruu!” Akira chimed happily. The blond’s heart skipped around within his chest, pounding against his rib-cage as his face lit up a beautiful scarlet. When was the last time he saw Akira in person? It had to be a long time ago, at least a year and a half, and yet now here he was.

“Ryo! It’s so nice to see you!” He looked over, not all too shocked to see Akira’s parents there. He saw what was going on now. Despite the fact that he acted more adult than the majority of his classmates, his mother must have gotten worried about him going on his Senior Trip to Disney World in Florida without supervision. However knowing full well that she couldn’t keep up with him, she arranged for the Fudo family to watch him instead and to keep him company. He was only a little annoyed with this idea, but any displeasure he had evaporated with the notion that he’d be with Akira the entire time.

Sitting down beside them in the first class seats, they all began talking back and forth for the flight. Enraptured deep in conversation, talking back and forth to each other happily. Ryo’s Japanese was flawless as he spoke to them, the other passengers shot them curious glances, but it didn’t seem like a single one of them knew what they were saying. In that moment, to the blond, it felt like every problem he was struggling with was melting away. He was so overwhelmingly happy.

“We have arrived in Florida! Thank you for flying with us! And to the students of Bayview High School, have a wonderful Senior Trip!” From where they sat, they could hear the cheers from Ryo’s classmates. He couldn’t help but giggle at their enthusiasm. Despite being so close to adulthood they all were such children.

Akira, all the while, was still trying to grasp the concept that his best friend Ryo was so smart that he was excelling past most 18 year olds. Imagine finding out that your best friend is a prodigy of some sort. It’d be almost like a strange joke. After a period of time, they got up and began exiting the plane. Ryo felt like he was part of the Fudo family and wondered if his mother and father hadn’t adopted him if he’d be living with them instead. Would the same things have happened? He didn’t think so… 

“What’s wrong, Ryo?” Kaori asked as he stood by the exit, watching as his classmates filtered past them. “Oh… I-I’m sorry Mrs Fudo. One of my classmates, her name is Misty, I promised that I’d wait by the gate for her when I got off, if I got off before her, and visa versa.” They smiled towards him, how sweet that was. “Alright then we’ll wait with you.” Reijiro stated, patting Akira on the head. The two of them were so shocked at just how adult the child looked.

He was going off to college soon while their son was still in Junior High School. Speaking of their son, the fact that they could see their son now was a miracle in of itself. The two of them worried that they wouldn’t be able to get off work to be able to see him. They were worried they’d have to rain check this trip too-- just like they do every other one. Leaving Akira to be all by himself at the Makimura house once again. They felt bad for the Makimuras, throwing their son on them, but it couldn’t be helped. They couldn’t bring Akira with them everywhere, into unsafe third world countries, especially considering the fact that they are doctors and thus being exposed to dangerous diseases.

How would they be able to live with themselves if they came home and brought with them some terrible disease that infected Akira. Diseases like Ebola, influenza, yellow fever, they didn’t want to risk something like that. It sounds cruel to dump your kid on another family, but they were certain it was better for Akira’s health.

Besides… He has Ryo whom he talks to almost every day.

“Ryo~!” A singsong voice caught their attention as a girl ran up to the blond and grabbed him a bear hug. Akira stared up at her in shock, he had never seen such bright red hair or sparkling green eyes. He was so curious of her. He thought red hair was only something in anime and hair dye. “Misty!” Ryo whined in between coughs before he felt himself being put down, he wheezed a bit before looking up to her with a grin. “Well did you do it? Did you get Josh’s attention?” Akira knew that grin on his face -- it was his mischievous grin, his ‘grin of evil’.

Misty’s face grew red before she shook her head aggressively. “Nope, I didn’t get sick once.” A sigh from Ryo. “Damn shame.” After this the two seemed to laugh at some inside joke that nobody else could understand. Kaori and Reijiro stared in confusion, whereas Akira just watched in awe. The funny thing to remember here is that Akira knows not a lick of English himself. 

“Misty, this is the Fudo family. Remember when I told you that I used to be an orphan, well this is the family that took care of me until I was adopted. Mrs and Mr Fudo and then my best friend Akira.” Ryo explained to her, to which her face lit up in shock. “Wait is this…  _ The _ Akira, the one that gave you your name?” The blond simply nodded, seemingly happy with the connection. “That’s so awesome! Well, it's so nice to meet you guys! I didn’t know you all were coming with us on our senior trip.” Misty spoke in her normal hyper-energetic and somewhat loud tone.

“It wasn’t in our original plan honestly. Ryo’s mother reached out to us and asked us to come with her. She’s really sick but she figured that since Akira lives in Japan and we’re always out on business, it’d be good for all of us to see each other again and what better time than when little Ryo needs some adult supervision.” Reijiro ruffled the blond’s hair.

Misty was surprised to see that Ryo didn’t react negatively, he just simply let it happen. Even further he didn’t mind when Akira came up to him and began straightening it all out again. It was a far cry from what she’s seen of Ryo around his parents. Around his own parents he’s always so quiet, somber, depressed… In those blue eyes of his there is terror hidden deep within and it made her sick every time she saw it, and yet around the Fudo family, Ryo is as happy as can be.

“So I guess that’s the boy you like than?” Ryo looked over to Misty in shock. They had such a wonderful trip and were waiting for the plane to begin boarding. The two of them sipped on the coffee they got from starbucks, looking over to the Fudo family as they drank their own warm beverages. “What gave you that idea?” The blond asked, his face practically glowing red.

“Ryo it’s pretty obvious. I’ve been trying since I’ve known you to figure out the boy you like and now I’ve finally figured it out. Of course you’d be the type to fall for the boy you’ve known your whole life. You’re like a helpless shoujo protagonist.” She laughed jovially at her quip, to which the blond turned to her, still flustered and shouted, “N-No I’m not!” She took a harty sip of her drink, finishing it off with an ‘ah’ sound before tossing the cup in the garbage.

“I’m shocked that Akira doesn’t figure it out quicker, I mean…” She giggled at the thought. “You’re practically falling all over him.” Ryo nodded, letting out a sigh. “I… Don’t know why I like him so much. He’s just always been there for me. I’ve never known anyone else who has shown me as much kindness as he has… I don’t think I can care for anyone else in the same way but…” He trailed off, how was he to phrase this. “But?” She leaned towards him curiously, raising a brow. She wanted to know why he opted out of just confessing to him now, why he was chickening out.

“He doesn’t know I’m intersex… He thinks I’m just a normal boy because I used to refer to myself as a boy. If I tell him that I like him, than he’ll assume I’m gay, and he’s expressed that he just… isn’t. I know it’s unreciprocated and I know that he’s going to look at me differently if I tell him. Imagine if I tell him that I love him and then he goes on to say that he doesn’t feel comfortable around me because of that. I’d lose the one person that’s been with me through everything.” Misty’s originally cocky expression melted into one of concerns. She knew about Ryo’s ‘birth deformities’ and she knew a lot of his history. She knows he’s a rape victim, even if she doesn’t know the specific details. She knows that he doesn’t care if he’s a boy or girl, but just wants to be a daughter for his dying mother. She knows that he’s struggling with Depression, Anxiety, Apathy, and PTSD. She knows all of this and understands it, but all the same his concerns seemed a bit far fetched.

“Ryo… Akira doesn’t seem to be the type to treat you poorly just because of what you can’t control. I think you know this.” Misty reassured him, only to frown when he just shook his head. “No… No… It’s not the same. Regardless of if he seems like the type to be too friendly, I can’t take that risk. There’s too much at stake here. I’d rather just be quiet and keep things as they are. If he never loves me, than that’s fine, so long as he likes me. If there’s even the slightest chance of Akira hating me than I won’t do it. I’ve lost too much already. We all have or had that one thing that we can’t bare to lose… Mine is Akira Fudo.”

Misty stared for a moment, how was it that Ryo never ceases to amaze her. The things he says are always so down to Earth, so smart, so clever. He always knew what to say when he was trying to get his point across. It was like he had a soul as old as time. “Well, all I’ll say is don’t let yourself go crazy. In the end it’s not worth it. I don’t want you suffering for eternity because you’re scared to tell a boy you like him, okay?” She spoke, nudging the other on the shoulder lightly.

The plane trip home was a lot more somber than the trip there, where everybody was sleepy and worn out from the long week. Ryo had actually gotten so comfortable on the flight that he fell asleep against Akira, who in turn fell asleep leaning right back against him. They were supporting each other equally with their weight. Kaori and Reijiro smiled as they watched them. Earlier that trip, before Misty had caught onto Ryo’s feelings for their son, they had. Upon bringing it up to Ryo himself, they reassured him that they understood and that they couldn’t think of a better person for their son. In the end it wasn’t their place to say who their son wound up with. They just had to sit to the side and watch them figure it all out on their own.

Bidding Ryo farewell was the hardest part of the trip. Akira never wanted to let him go. It was nice to see that despite everything they were still so close. They wouldn’t want to lose each other for anything. They were best friends, have been for eight years now. But in the end they did have to leave, and as such they did, relegating the two to being long distance once again.

For a while Ryo was in high spirits, but as gravity would entail what comes up must go down… It didn’t take long for the ‘natural routine’ to fall back into play and for any ounce of happiness he had to fade away into oblivion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akira's parents know about Ryo's intersex condition, but Akira was never told. So far Akira is the only person Ryo will tolerate referring to him as a male. Also to add to this, Misty, Kaori, and Reijiro all realize Ryo's crush on Akira.


	33. Obsession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His father has grown obsessed with terrible creatures, with demons, and fully believes that Ryo is Satan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> His father is possessed by a demon, that demon is telling him and showing him how Ryo is in fact Satan.

Time ran by in a blink of an eye. 

He went to his Senior Prom with Misty, and was happy for her when she got together with Josh. However, he knew that he would only know her for so much longer as the school year came to a close. June came and Ryo was asked to give a speech at graduation, being regarded as the most academically successful student in the school’s history, having never gotten anything less than a 98% on a test or quiz or homework assignment. He gave a speech, something that he knew nobody else would remember but would at least allay any fears he had about what he was saying himself.

He could remember receiving his diploma and hearing Akira screaming out his name in celebration, alongside his mother, Chloe. His father, Hiroaki, wasn’t there, but he didn’t really care all that much. If he didn’t want to see him graduate, that was his own fault, nothing that he really cared to worry about. A few weeks after he graduated he went in for a medical and mental checkup. His body’s hormones were beginning to return to a ‘normal’ level and yet the doctor’s still stated that he was more female than he was male. To continue on that, his psychologist stated that the mental diseases that most likely plagued him were innumerable.

He moved into college soon after, growing and growing as time went on. He began studying for his degree in Archaeology, however just like in high school he excelled. It only took him a year to gain a Bachelor’s degree as he took class after class, and, in some cases, even took the final before the class began. Often times proving that he knew the information before having learned any of it in class. He was regarded as the school’s poster child rather quickly.

All while this was occurring his mother was growing weaker and weaker and his father had begun to do some questionable research in the Amazon Rain forest. His father began to sound strange, crazed even. Almost as though he wasn’t human in a way. Ryo didn’t understand it and didn’t think he ever would, so instead he vouched to just keep working on his studies, essentially forcing the thoughts of his parents out of his mind as he tried to keep up with his school work in a much more fitted environment.

That would have been the end of it, but of course things always get worse. Ryo can’t find a moment of joy it seemed. Eventually as the year wore on he got a call from his parents telling him that his mother was growing deathly ill and that his father was incapable of caring for her. Under this knowledge Ryo decided that perhaps it would be best that he finishes up his Bachelor’s Degree and then return home for a spell to care for his mother.

When he graduated he was surprised by the amount of press he received. From magazine articles, news interviews, so on so forth. It seemed like everyone wanted to know about one of history’s youngest graduates, graduating with a Bachelor’s at merely the age of 13, three years older than history’s youngest graduate. The fact that he wasn’t the youngest was part of the reason why he didn’t expect all the press that he received, and yet somehow that’s what he got.

When he came home the house was a mess. Regardless of Jenny’s and Sirene’s efforts, the place seemed to be falling apart. It broke his heart in a way. How could a place that was once so beautiful fall so tragically. His father was almost always locked away in his study and the dog and bird that he had taken such a liking too seemed to be poorly fed and cleaned. His mother was in her bed hardly lucid, she rambled on and on about things that he couldn’t understand. When he actual made contact with his father for the first time the amount of violence that befell him was unprecedented.

“Satan! You’re Satan! Show your form, prince of darkness! Tainted angel! Show yourself!” His father shouted as he tried to rip off his clothes. “Let me go! Father!” With his long fingernails he swiped at him, leaving thin scratches down his cheeks which caused Hiroaki to rear back and drop him. Ryo scrambled away, trying to fix his clothes to settle on his shoulders once again. “Those scars on your back! They’re where your wings once were! The demons showed me! You’re Satan! The rebel, Satan!” His father swore, to which Ryo simply shook his head aggressively.

“What the hell are you talking about!? I’m not the devil! Demons and Angels don’t even exist!” He didn’t expect for a bullet to go whizzing right by his ear, there was a flicker of pain but for the most part save for a thin stream of blood from the shell of his ear, he was unharmed. He raised a trembling hand up to the side of his head, the sting barely registered to him, instead it was the ringing in his skull. His father shot at him. Actually shot at him! He was horrified. Never has this level of crazed violence ever come upon him.

“Shut up, Satan… Your lies and trickery doesn’t work on me. I’ve seen your slaves. I’ve seen every single one of them. I knew you were trouble the minute I laid eyes on you. I should have disemboweled you when I had the chance, now they’re awake and if I try then--” He stopped, pressing the gun to Ryo’s head. He could feel the still stinging metal against his flesh, it was both cold and hot, both frigid and burning.

“Get up, now.” His father barked, the gun still pointed right between the blond’s eyes. With trembling hands, he got up to his feet, slowly, with his hands up. He wanted to cry, but couldn’t find the energy to do so. Everything was too much, his heart was pounding in his chest rapidly. He was horrified, as to be expected of a child being forced to stand with a gun to their head. “Now start walking down into the basement.” Ryo nodded and did as he was told, walking towards the basement door.

“Now open the door.” Ryo had always been terrified of the basement. It was dark and damp down there. Completely terrifying in every way with insects and childhood monsters. Despite that it was either that or be shot, is it wrong that he genuinely thought being shot was an option. He slowly opened the door to the basement and started descending. As soon as he was one or two steps down he heard the door slam shut behind him and the locks click into place. He turned around to see he was alone, his father locked him down here. He ran to the door and began banging on it.

“What!? Let me out! Let me out!” He shrieked, before falling silent. His father had gone mad. He had gone completely insane. He couldn't go back up there, as such slipped down the steps and into the darkness of the basement, allowing himself to be consumed by it. Ryo turned to look at what was in the room and was in both awe and terror to see all the demonic artifacts in the room, each drawing him more than the last. He investigated each one with utmost care and caution, but it was one patch of darkness which truly grasped his attention.

He approached it carefully but couldn’t see what was within it. Reaching up, he grabbed hold of the string which was connected to the lights on the other side of the room. Pulling it swiftly, it clicked before buzzing to life revealing something truly macabre. A fetus… It was definitely a fetus… It was humanoid in appearance but it had something else. Something that seemed vaguely familiar.

He stared at it for a while before full on vertigo and panic set on him. Vomit and bile forced its way up and he emptied the contents of his stomach all out onto the floor. Soon enough he was screaming from within the basement as his mind frayed and fried in his skull. He didn’t know why seeing the fetus terrified him so much, but it did. It brought back some carnal pain inside of him. Some terrible grief which was threatening to consume him in it’s entirety. His only thought was to kill himself.

Eventually he was banging as hard as he could on the door. Scratching into it until his hands were gushing and his fingernails were falling out. Deep rivets in the wooden door. “Let me out! Let me out! He’s dead! I can’t! I have to save him!” He didn’t even know what he was saying as he screamed out, banging on the door. “Amon! Amon! Please save me, Amon!” This got quite the attention as he slammed on the door, screaming until his voice was hoarse and tears poured down his cheeks.

When he couldn’t scream anymore and his voice was nothing more than a sharp whistle from his throat, that was when the door opened and his body was dragged out, trembling and sobbing. Blood was pooling from his ripped up hands, staining the sleeves of his white dress and showing the damage he did to himself trying to be free. His fingernails on many of his digits were just completely gone, broken off, and if one looks close enough they could probably find a fragment of a few of them laying about the subterranean room.

Ryo never left his room for the rest of the summer, he lay in bed for the most part, staring at the sky above him unsure of what he was supposed to do. What was it that he saw? Who was it that he saw? That couldn’t have been real but it had such a terrible reaction on him. He wondered for the longest time, what could possibly be wrong with him. What happened to him?

Returning to school was a relief. He took on extra classes to forget what happened, throwing himself into his work so he didn’t have to remember the fetus in his basement. The fetus of something that gave him the sick feeling of a weight in his stomach. Almost as though there was something inside of him too. Where did his father get that? What was it? Regardless of what or where, he didn’t want to see it anymore. He never wanted to see it again. He wanted it gone, buried back in the ground where it belonged. Buried deep below their feet for the rest of eternity.

Eventually he managed to work hard enough to obtain his Doctorate degree in Archaeology with a minor in history followed by a Bachelor’s degree in world language, his natural talent with language made him somewhat of a linguist. After his achievement was noticed, everyone wanted to cover him in the media. Magazines, television, newspapers, everything wanted to know more about him. One of these talk shows actually led to him seeing Akira for the first time in so long… What a sight the other was.

Instead of returning home he immediately began his career as a professor. He got his own apartment right off of a college campus and began teaching there. He made quite a bit, and even if he didn’t his mother was always supporting him. It was this ability and intellect that led him to an expedition to the Amazon. He followed the river and wound up encountering very familiar individuals.

The tribe, he had almost completely forgotten them in his growing age, but they had not forgotten him. When he stepped upon land that he recognized, they were there to greet him. When they spoke to him he immediately picked up on what they were saying and began to communicate back to them. Back and forth. The conversation went. He was able to actually speak to them. Following them deeper into the underbrush he saw the place where he grew up… Worst of all, he found the grave of his tribe mother.

The mother he saw die so many years ago.

He spoke to the grave for a while, as though speaking to her, before he made his peace and moved on… Spending shockingly little time with the tribe of his childhood in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The baby that is in Ryo's basement is in fact the body of Lucius. Also the tribe does completely recognize Ryo. Another thing worth noting is that the person that pulled Ryo out of the basement was Jenny. But Ryo doesn't connect these dots because of the fact he is in hysterics. Jenny, on the other hand, couldn't get down there until she got Hiroaki drunk, which is why she took so long to begin with. To add to this, Ryo hides in his room never coming into direct contact with his father -- he is just a scared child after all.


	34. Suicide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryo's father finally snaps, the demon that has begun to possess him takes over and it costs him his life, and the life of his wife.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: There is murder, suicide, animal cruelty, and other such grotesque elements in this chapter. This chapter is supposed to be horrific as all the terrible things we've seen happen until now come to a head. Read at your own risk.

“John!?”

Ryo shrieked as he spotted the corpse of his dog suspended from the chandelier in the dining room. Little rivers of blood poured from the body, fur fell about in clumps and drifted like petals in a spring gale. The dog’s face was locked perpetually in a snarl, as though it once was trying to defend itself, and had lost. He was an older dog now, was it truly any surprise that he’d be outdone by the same man that brought him home.

Ryo’s brain reeled as he stumbled back.. First Sirene leaves mysteriously, then his mother is decided to be a lost cause by doctors and taken off of treatment, and now his dog is dangling from the light fixture in the dining room. He was horrified and didn’t know what to do. Putting his hand over his mouth as he gaped, he cast his gaze down to his father. The dining room table was stained with the still warm blood.

“Why… Why did you…” Ryo couldn’t get the words out as he watched his father bite into the raw entrails of the animal that the blond called his best friend. A choked sob escaped him. This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be happening at all. He felt his knees grow weak as he stepped further away from his father. “He just looked so good, Satan. I thought you’d know that…” Hiroaki growled out, his voice didn’t sound like him, and judging by the crooked grin he wore, it’s easy to attribute it to madness.

“I’m not Satan!” Ryo’s defensiveness ended up being his downfall. He blinked and suddenly found Hiroaki before him, blood coating his features, as he opened his jaw wide. The feeling of his teeth in his shoulder sent rifts of pain through his form. He screamed, as to be expected. He attempted to push him especially with those wandering hands doing things that Ryo hated to say he’s more than familiar with. 

“What the hell are you doing! Get away from me! Crazy fucking--” He shoved his father with all of his force off of him, ripping into his exposed shoulder in the process. He didn’t care, Hiroaki was off of him, he was safe. As such he began to back away, nursing his wounds. “Your canary is dead too… I killed and ate her as well…” Hiroaki told him, a twisted laugh bellowing from his stomach. The meat that he tore from Ryo’s shoulder, a little sliver, was devoured greedily. “I never knew a fallen angel could taste so good, and to think I’ve been putting--”

“Don’t say it!” The blond cut off, backing further out of the door, blue eyes wild with terror. “You’re the demon here! Not me! I’m not the devil!” This exclamation only led for his father to come rushing towards him again. Effectively leading to Ryo running away as fast as he could. He slipped down halls, believing his father was right on his tail, before entering his room and slamming the door as hard as he could.

The image of his father’s face as he bit into raw dog meat was horrible only accentuated when he bit into his arm soon after. It was an image he never wanted to see again. Leaning against his door, he listened with bated breath for any sound. Nothing came. A sigh of relief before he reached up and gingerly touched the wound upon his shoulder. A hiss of pain escaped him as he pulled away, blood coated his digits. Why was this happening to him? Why did any of this happen to him? He was only fifteen, no other fifteen-year-old that he knew was going through something like this. It was almost like he was trapped in a horror story or something of the like.

After a moment he peeled off his top, a beautiful sleeveless blouse which was perfect for the warm interior of his home. Taking it, he tied it around his shoulder to create a sort of bandage. It felt strange, exposing his torso like this, but he would have to make do. Rising to his feet, he locked the door to his bedroom before moving over to his bed.

The lights in his bedroom remained off, the only time that any visible light would be visible from this room was when the lightning flickered outside. Ryo let himself collapse onto his bed. His head pounded from exhaustion and fear. In the end there was nothing he could do. Not with the storm as it was and not with his father rampaging somewhere in the house. If his father saw him without a shirt on, in a bra, skirt, and socks, who knows what would happen. 

For a long time, he just rested upon his bed, staring up towards his ceiling. He listened to the storm outside and his father’s rampaging. But as the clock ticked on, he couldn’t fight against the dangerous grip of sleep. Eventually it did take him, and eventually he was rendered completely vulnerable. Not even the blanket was wrapped around him as he slept, curled up into a tight ball, blood staining his white top still wrapped around his shoulder like a sorry excuse for a tourniquet.

He didn’t hear when the lock was picked on his door or even when said door creaked open, muffled by the booming thunder. He didn’t hear his floorboards creaking. He didn’t even hear his father’s labored breathing as he stood by his bedside. The scream from Hiroaki as he began his assault was what awoke him. Ryo jumped awake, instinctively beginning to run. A sharp pain ignited in his leg as he fell from his bed. Another pain as his blanket came with him. Looking down at the source he could see that he managed to successfully avoid being stabbed in the stomach, only to be stabbed in the thigh instead, the handle of the blade caught onto the blanket and was torn right out as quick as it entered.

Blood poured through his wound and, as his father came around the bed for him, Ryo struggled to stand. It hurt terribly to hop over the bed and run once again. His father got ahold of him once, grasping onto his breast and hip to hold him still, but without hesitation the blond quickly elbowed him in the face. 

He ran into his mother’s room, terrified, and slammed the door as hard as he could. Chloe woke up from her long rest due to the ruckus, for she had been asleep since two that evening, only to see her daughter in quite a terrible state. With his shirt wrapped around his shoulder, his bra unclipped from the front and hanging open around him, his skirt disheveled and messy, sagging on one side, and with a gushing wound in his leg. Banging erupted from the door and Ryo let out a cry of terror as his bloody fingers struggled to get enough purchase to turn the lock on the handle, his shoulder pressed against the door to prevent Hiroaki from opening it before he could finish securing it.

“Ryo! What’s wrong!?” Chloe asked watching as her daughter grabbed one of the chairs and barricaded the door with it. He couldn’t think straight, he was hyperventilating as he attempted to clip his bra again, smearing the lacy white fabric with blood and gore. “Ryo!? Angel what’s happening!?” He still didn’t respond, not until his mother grabbed ahold of his shoulders and held him there, looking into his eyes. “What’s wrong with your father!?” She demanded, it was obvious she was weak from her disease but was somewhat stronger thanks to a lack of treatment. However they both know her time is limited.

“He… He’s gone crazy, he’s trying to kill me, he-- he stabbed me and I don’t know what to do, I didn’t do anything wrong, why does he think I’m the devil!? What did I do? He killed John, hung him on the light and began to eat him, then he tried to cannibalize me! I don’t know how he got into my room, I locked the door, but somehow he still got in!” He was rambling on and on, hardly taking any breaths in between as panic continued to grab hold of him. He tore away from his mother and ran to the window and attempted to rip it open only to find that it was glued shut. “Fuck!” Ryo shouted, trying to find something to break it with, only to be stopped by the sound of splintering wood. Both of them looked over with wide eyes, almost like rabbits in a snare.

Chloe wasn’t sure what to believe with the story her daughter told her, but all the same she saw the change herself in her own husband. He had gotten more and more violent, more and more aggressive, and worst of all their fights were growing more and more hectic as he continued to mistreat their daughter. But all the same, there was only so much she could do as sick as she was.

The wood cracked and splintered again. Their eyes were focused on it as a hole in the wood was formed with an axe. It reminded Ryo of ‘The Shining’, a book he particularly enjoyed, but preferred to stay within the realm of fiction and not reality. Hiroaki’s arm manifested through the hole, reaching over to the lock. Ryo picked up a book of matches and lit one, rushing over to his arm and pressing it against his sleeve. It ignited, resulting in the other to retreat, but not before the door began to catch.

Before it could burst into flames, the blond grabbed the chair, lifting it as best he could with the little strength he had, and threw it as hard as possible against the window -- there was no way that door was going to hold, not if it was on fire. The glass shattered all around them in a beautiful array of shards and knives. “Hurry!” Ryo shouted, taking his mother’s hand. She stopped him, pulling against him. “You can’t jump out of there! You’ll kill yourself!” They were rather high up, but it was their only option as the room began to quickly ignite. The only thing preventing it from catching altogether being the rain which poured in from the outside.

Soon enough the door crashed down, spreading the flames even further and exposing Hiroaki on the other side. His clothes were in flames, he was burning, but that didn’t matter. He was melting away like a wax candle but that wouldn’t stop him from saving this world from who he perceived was the devil.

“Hiroaki! No!”

When the body fell on the ground, Ryo felt his heart break. He was paralyzed watching as his father cut the head of his mother clean off with the axe he was wielding. She had pushed him out of the way, choosing to take the blow herself. Her lifeless eyes stared up at him from where her head lay in his lap. His life had spiraled into a living nightmare. This was a bad dream -- it had to be. There was no way around it. He would wake up in the orphanage again as if nothing happened, as if he was never adopted, as if there was nothing for which would hurt him.

As he stared at his stumbling father, however, he knew that couldn’t be the case. The body fell, a burning and putrid mess, beside him continuing to ignite the carpet for which he was resting upon. For a while he didn’t notice the embers catching upon his skirt, not until it was already beginning to burn him. It was the pain of the burn and the smell of his own burning flesh which snapped him out of his stupor. He patted his skirt out, but the damage had already been done. That didn’t matter however, what mattered was escaping the blazing inferno that was now his home.

He left his mother’s head where it was, he didn’t want to see the grotesque thing any longer, it would only hinder him. Instead he began to travel through the halls. His mother was right, there was no way he’d survive a jump like that, one that could very well impale him upon the many lawn ornaments that it overlooked. Tall and sharp pillars of stone with pointed tops. Like a pit of spikes from a torture chamber… No, he had to find a better way out. Stumbling through the fire, he worked his way to his exit.

When he emerged from the building, coughing and sputtering, he was in horrible condition. It was obvious that he was beginning to fall victim to shock. It was easy to tell that the flames had licked him and caught him multiple times, requiring him to put it out and thus being trapped in the flames for longer.

His skin was burned, his clothes were nearly all completely seared away, his hair was singed, and blood was pouring from his many wounds. Half of his skirt had been seared away, leaving him in the other half, which clung on loosely to his hips. His bra was hanging like loose cloth to his chest and shoulders, one whole cup burned away save for the heated metal wiring which singed his chest, exposing his right breast and a massive burn which trailed from in between his boobs down to where his skirt should have been. His panties, however, were thankfully intact. At least there was a little bit of dignity left for him. His one sock no longer had a foot, exposing his bare feet to the ashes and cinders all around him while the other was torn up but mostly in one piece.

When he came out of the building, the firemen and ambulances were already on sight. One of the men came towards him and asked him very calmly if there was anyone else inside. “Not alive.” Was all he could say in his croaking voice. His eyes were distant, he was most certainly somewhere else entirely. Soon enough Paramedics were upon him, taking him to the ambulance and beginning to treat him. 

“Ryo!?” The voice was distant but sounded familiar. “Let me by, let me see him! That’s my employer’s daughter! I need to see her!” Jenny… it was Jenny… He hadn’t time to look at her or explain anything before his consciousness ebbed away. His life was torn away from him once again, all in the blink of an eye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy October 1st everyone! (Okay so it's October 2nd because I forgot I was planning to do this but I'll make up for it! I promise!) Because I love me some spooks, and because Devilman: Eden is a horror based project, every day I will attempt (key word is attempt) to post a new chapter until Halloween, where I will have a special surprise for the series. I want to try and get to the Hell arc or at least to the Apocalypse section of this arc around Halloween time so we can get into the really dark stuff. Wish me luck on this endeavor and stay tuned! For now enjoy the chapters to come! (there will be a second chapter tonight because I refuse to not post 31 chapters at least this month)


	35. Funeral

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira is just a normal 16 year old student with a little too much worry on his mind. He means well though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So before we start with this chapter, an important announcement from yours truly! I need ideas for demons and devilmen. Unless I get an overwhelming level of ideas I will use every single one in the story in one way or another and I’ll credit their original creators in the notes that go with the chapters. I need personalities, concepts, and so on so forth. No art skill required (although if you can craft a picture of said character that’d be awesome) Due to the overwhelming amount of chapters being posted onto this fic during this month, I will not have time to craft all of them myself and I thought it'd be fun regardless. Also you can submit multiple ideas if you have them. The only thing I request is that you remember it’s very likely your character will be killed in some way (especially if they’re a devilman). But you all know how this series works already. Just leave a comment or message me on discord (my discord information is on my profile) and I'll be more than happy to hear your ideas. Anyways! Enjoy the chapter!

“Mr Fudo!” Akira jumped as he looked up at his teacher. “Did you hear anything I was just talking about!?” She was pissed, and it showed on her expression. “N-No… I’m sorry, Hayashi-sensei.” He was a good kid, everyone knew it. Little Akira never zoned out during class, even if his grades didn’t show for it, and he never did anything bad. To be zoning out in such a way wasn’t normal. The teacher sighed. “Meet me in my office after class, please.” Akira nodded, quietly coming to terms with his fate.

He was never the super smart kid in class… He can’t read very well, and writing takes quite a long time for him. Learning languages is even harder on him and sometimes, to this day, he still gets everything all jumbled up. As he sits in class he tries his hardest to focus, looking down at his wrist he could see the red mark from the twelve times he snapped himself with a rubber band to scold himself in order to pay attention in class. He remembered going to the doctor when he was younger after Ryo noticed that he couldn’t grasp basic reading very well.

That was the first time he heard the terms ‘dyslexia’ and ‘attention deficit hyperactivity disorder’. He felt rather terrible hearing such things, even though he didn’t know what it meant at all, but Ryo was there to support him. He could remember how Ryo taught him little jingles or games to try and make learning fun. If it wasn’t for the blond he didn’t think he’d be here right now. Seeing Ryo’s success and hearing what he had to say on calls always soothed him and encouraged him to keep pressing on.

Ryo was a genius, that was true, but he came from a tribe in the jungle! If he can come from a background like that and become so successful, well then Akira firmly believed he could too! 

He wanted to make Ryo as proud as he did when he read a whole book out loud to him way back when! That’s his goal. He didn’t care about fame and fortune, he just wanted to see his best friend smile and say ‘good job!’ again. His heart sank as he thought about that… Ryo really needed a smile right now.

Last time Akira talked to Ryo was about a month ago. He had been told about the fire and how Mr and Mrs Asuka died, and how Ryo was really badly injured… It hurt his heart terribly. The funeral was today wasn’t it… It didn’t help with his distraction in class. His parents were going because, well, they were able to take off work. Akira couldn’t take off school, not with his educational struggles as they are.

His parents, being doctors, understood Dyslexia and ADHD very well, but his teachers did not. That meant that he had to work extremely hard to be able to succeed. Even then it only results in his getting lower scores. Still passing, but not enough to make anyone really proud of him. 70s were his average, something that his parents were proud of anyways, but weren’t anything to brag about. 

To make up for his shortcomings, it wasn’t uncommon to find Akira going to study sessions outside of school, practicing reading and writing constantly in little journals, and listening to the Makimuras when they encourage him to read things out loud as practice almost all the time.

_ “What does that say, Akira?” Miki would ask, holding up a bag. “It says…” He’d focus really closely on it before saying, “Granulated Sugar?” Miki would grin and nod her head. “That’s right! Now help me put these cookies in the oven.” _

Many people would feel like they were being looked down upon but not Akira. He knew that he needed the extra practice. It was rudimentary, but it helped him, and that’s all that truly mattered.

“Okay, so what’s wrong?” The teacher got straight to the point, Akira couldn’t help but find it a bit rude, but he wasn’t going to say that. He stood in her office, knowing full well that Miki was out in the courtyard waiting for him. “I… There’s just… a lot going on.” He explained, he couldn’t find the right words to explain to her what was happening, and he didn’t know how appreciative Ryo would be having his information spread around like this… He could be more vague but he struggles finding words to begin with, never mind subtle nuances and whatnot.

“Well you’re not going to the school’s study groups, you’re not finishing your homework on time anymore, your papers don’t make any sense… I know things are hard for you to grasp because of your ADHD, but that’s no excuse to be slacking off like this.” Akira didn’t know what to say, he didn’t really have anything to say. Instead he just sat there in silence, listening to the teacher drone on and on in lecture.

After the fact, he quietly apologized and left with his head hung just a little bit. It’s not like he didn’t try, he tried a lot, but somehow never made the mark. As of late, however, he missed all the more. It’s hard to focus when you know someone you care about is hurting. He hoped beyond hope that Ryo was alright. He felt tears sting his eyes at the sheer thought of it… He hated how often he cried.

When he saw Miki in the courtyard, however, he couldn’t help but feel most of the pain evaporate. The tears soothed just a little bit. She had pulled out one of the emergency lollipops she kept in her bag and held it out to him. “You look pretty low, and after being asked to talk to sensei, I can’t blame you.” She stated as Akira pulled the wrapping off of it. It was melon flavored, which made him very happy. It wasn’t his favorite lollipop flavor but it was more than enough to settle him. “Yeah… there’s a… lot going on, you know?” She nodded her head in understanding.

“Would you like to talk about it?” Miki asked as they walked home together. “Do you want to hear about it?” Akira responded curiously. “I mean I asked didn’t I?” He supposed that was correct. “You remember my old friend Ryo Asuka. The blond boy in that one photo I have on my dresser?” She nodded. “Well his family just died. There was a big fire at his house caused by his father. Ryo is saying it was suicide and attempted murder but… the police aren’t sure completely yet. He was in the hospital last I talked to him, he was hurt really badly. He was stabbed, cut by glass, burned, it’s… pretty awful. The funeral for his parents is today, but I don’t know if Ryo is okay or not.”

Miki listened attentively, nodding along. “That sounds awful… I can see why it’d be distracting for you, but I’m sure he’s fine. After all, someone would have gotten in contact with you if he wasn’t, right?” She asked, to which Akira simply shook his head. “No… There’s more to the story but I can’t really talk about that. I don’t know how much Ryo is comfortable with me talking about.” In the end, he didn’t want to get on his best friend’s bad side. “Well if you’re not comfortable talking about it, than let’s not worry about it, okay?” She offered with a smile before pointing to a sign.

“Akira! What does that say?” They stopped and Akira blinked a few times as he tried to process the words. It took him about a minute to completely figure out the string of text. “Higuchi Bakery; The Sweetest Stop on the Block.” He looked over to Miki expectantly. “Awesome! That was perfect! Let’s go in and I’ll get you something good to cheer you up and reward you!” She took his hand aggressively and pulled him inside.

When they got home, Mr and Mrs Makimura were already home. Taro was playing video games on the television, as per usual. Tako, their cat, was complaining audibly about his food bowl being empty. It was just a normal, average day. 

Akira went up into his room, eager to check his computer, he wanted to know what was going on, if anything had been sent to him from his parents or Ryo. He opened their chat app and found it painfully barren of any new messages… He checked his social media, nothing was there. Finally, in a last ditch attempt, he checked his email and was surprised to find something from his mother.

_ ‘Hey Akira! We just wanted to let you know that the funeral went fine. Ryo is doing just wonderfully. If you don’t believe us, look at the pictures we sent! He was so happy to see us. He’s handling the loss of his father really well, understandably from what you already know, but his mother… not so much. The doctor said that none of his burns were bad enough to be disfiguring, so that’s a relief. The big thing we wanted to tell you though was that he cut his hair! It’s no longer really long. It’s super short now. I think he looks better with it. Anyways, he says he’s coming to Japan in three months, he’s planning on meeting up with you so keep an eye out. We’ll be coming to visit in August. We love you sweetie, and keep doing so wonderful at school. Love, Mom’ _

Akira scrolled through the pictures and they were right. Ryo did look well. His face was tear stained, yes, but he was altogether well. The bandages all over him were concerning, but he seemed to be recovering really well. On another note he completely agreed with his mother when she said that his hair cut really fit him. It did.

In that moment Akira felt like he was letting out a heavy breath that he was holding in for the longest time. Hearing that Ryo was safe was one of the most soothing things. He didn’t know what he’d do without him… Closing out his tabs, he got up from his chair and grabbed a book from the shelf before sitting on his bed. It was time for some more practice, now that he was relaxed again and that most of the anxiety melted away, he could start to get back to studying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akira is a very shy child. He's afraid of speaking up frequently, and he often times is shown to have low self-esteem. However he is still a loving and energetic boy. He struggles with dyslexia and ADHD, but he has wonderful support network to help him grow and thrive, even if his grades don't necessarily show it.


	36. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira is reunited with his best friend Ryo under some dark circumstances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While I will say you can imagine any version of Ryo and Akira (or anyone else for that matter) up to this point, what I see when I write is the OVA versions. The ones that appear in the manga and Devilman: The Birth, Devilman: The Demon Bird, and CB Chara Go Nagai's World. The only exception to this rule is Satan, whom I write with his crybaby design. However you can imagine whichever version you so choose.

“Are you coming, Akira?” He perked up upon hearing Miki’s voice. He was zoned out at the time, watching a butterfly flutter upon a flower. That anxiety he held before had returned. It’s been a handful of months and he still hadn’t heard from Ryo. It hurt his heart to think that something may have happened to him. Part of his brain fussed at him, telling him that the blond couldn’t have just disappeared, but the other part of his mind knew what Ryo had been going through. He knew about what Hiroaki did to his son, he knew about how Ryo has a history of self harm and suicide… He didn’t like the concept that maybe his friend had fallen victim to his own hand.

“Yes, I’m coming Miki.” He shouted back, following after her quietly. “Sorry I kept you waiting. One of those creepy boys pulled me to the side, you know the ones?” Akira nodded his head, those trouble makers were always bad news. “What did they say?” He asked, raising a brow, to which she grinned. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” She began in a teasing tone, poking him lightly on the nose. “But, in all seriousness, they were just saying gross things. Objectifying things… I don’t really like boys like that.” She told him with a sigh, to which Akira answered with, “Why don’t you try girls than?”

Miki’s face went bright red as she lifted up her bag and hit Akira on the butt with it. “What did you say!?” Akira jumped up and ran a bit ahead, laughing. “What? What’s so wrong with liking a girl?” He teased, her reaction was humoring him. “The same thing that’s wrong with you liking a boy!” Miki shouted back, a frown on her features. “Hey-- I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. People will love who they love.” Akira defended, but in the end he didn’t answer the question. He didn’t know whether or not he liked boys or girls. He didn’t feel a particular attraction to either. 

He was far too distracted for things like that, besides nobody wants to date him anyways. “You’re only saying that because you like the erotic stuff.” Miki shot back, crossing her arms across her chest. “No I’m serious Miki. If you wanted to date a girl, so long as you’re happy, I’d be happy too. If a boy made me very happy, than I’d give him a shot. Same with a girl. I was taught when I was traveling around the world with my parents that just because something isn’t seen all the time doesn’t mean it’s not okay.” They fell quiet, Akira smiling at her in a friendly manner before she sighed.

“I just don’t understand it… That’s all.” Miki felt quite a bit like an ass now, but that’s how it usually was. She was the type that didn’t want to push against the currents of what was ‘normal’. Things were fine as they were, is there really any reason to change everything? She didn’t think so, but then again, maybe people like that think differently. Maybe they like rocking the boat a bit… 

“Well if it isn’t the slut of track and field, what’s a girl like you doing with a crybaby like that?” Miki whirled around, ready to sock the source of the voice in the face. She found that she was nose to nose with one of the boys she had encountered earlier. Her demeanor instantly shifted, she did not like these boys, not one bit. The group of seven, known as the Masa Gang around school, were definitely a frightening bunch. They were sore enough sights to make anyone cringe.

They were all led by Masa Bokuto, whom of which was, surprisingly, not the one she was nose to nose with. He was leaning against a stone wall which surrounded one of the houses they were traversing past. He seemed to care very little for the outcome of the situation, so long as he wasn’t embarrassed by whatever happens. Yet there was a sense of protection that could be seen in those eyes, he saw the other members he led as sort of a family… A twisted one, but still a family.

Dosu-Roku, a strongman with very low intelligence and a very brutish nature, was the one that she had been facing off with. He was the one that undoubtedly made the terrible comment, but regardless, there wasn’t much she could do. He was threatening enough to make anyone want to avoid him like the plague. There was a reason he couldn’t get the girl, it’s because of the fact that he has quite the reputation. Whether or not these are just rumors, however, is debatable.

Meriken-Jo was even more meat-headed than Dosu-Roku was. A short character that seemed to linger around Masa like a sort of bodyguard. Judging by how he already had his brass knuckles on, he was the type to easily anger and be hard to calm. He stared at Miki and Akira with hungry eyes, no doubt waiting for one of them to make a move. He was craving blood and gore, violence and delinquency. While Miki was more than happy with that, Akira was not. He wanted to stay out of trouble and seeing Meriken-Jo truly did solidify the thought in his head.

Manjiro was right behind Dosu-Roku, his eyes filled with a blaze of lust that terrified Miki to the bone. She hated the look he gave her all while he played with that dangerous chain in his hand. A chain that everyone has seen the potential of. He’s deadly with it, no doubt about it, and with it he has ended the life of many strays. It’s a shock that anyone let this man continue to walk the streets. The marks he leaves on his ‘victims’ are evidence enough of what needs to be done. It’s only a matter of time before he becomes a true felon, waiting to be taken in.

Tetsuya was much older than all the others, and definitely showed it. He was lingering in the back, seemingly keeping an eye out for anyone coming towards them that may put a halt to their encounter. For the most part, however, it seemed he wanted to be here as much as Akira and Miki did.

Go was just on the other side of Dosu-Roku. He was a bellowing fellow, but it was obvious that he was the type to just follow orders. He was prepared, with knife in hand, to do whatever he was instructed to. However judging by how his gaze was fixed on Akira, not Miki, it was undoubtedly to set some made up score that nobody is aware of. As though the timid sixteen year old is brave or brash enough at that point in time to do anything to annoy or irritate anyone.

Finally there was Ken. He was a tall, lean fellow, one that was more eerie than anyone really could have anticipated from someone like him. He had come out from around a corner, effectively trapping the duo where they were, knife drawn. He was glaring hungrily at Miki, eyeing her up as though she was nothing more than some fine meat.  _ ‘His eyes are undressing me…’ _ She thought to herself, uncomfortable as she backed away and more towards Akira instead, as though he would be able to protect her.

“Hey… W-We don’t mean any trouble guys. We’re just going home.” Akira tried to explain, only letting out a squeak and shrinking back when one of the men jumped forward a bit. “We ain’t talkin’ to you, crybaby.” Meriken growled, his eyes narrowed and his expression turned harsh. “Akira! Do something.” Miki called out to him, but in the end Akira was far too overwhelmed to know what to do. They began to close in on them, showing obvious aggression. “C’mon crybaby, just walk away and you won’t have to get hurt.” Go spoke, brandishing his weapon.

Akira thought about it for a long time as they continued to close further and further in, but in the end, the only thing he could think of was to take a deep breath and simply utter the words, “Fuck off.” He wasn’t the type to incite violence, but when it came to people like Ryo and Miki, he would fight anyone if it meant keeping them safe. They were all he has, he cared about them a lot, he would even say that he loves them even. 

“What did you say, twerp?” Someone in the crowd, Akira wasn’t sure who, exclaimed. It took a moment for it all to sink in before they began to run towards the two of them. Miki let out a shriek, Akira a gasp, they felt hands grab onto them, but suddenly a loud ‘ ** _BANG_ ** ’ rang through the noise.

Ken let out a cry of pain as he fell to the ground, a bullet had pierced his leg and sent him into the deepest throes of agony. Akira turned to see a face that was all too familiar. Ryo… His best friend. He was standing there in clothes for which Akira remembered, with a haircut wildly different from the messy long hair he used to have, with a gun sitting comfortably in his hands.

“That was just a warning shot, next time I won’t just hit your leg.” Ryo threatened with a frown. The group dropped their prey and began to back away. “Look, we don’t want no trouble or anythin’ but--” Manjiro began, his voice was cut off as the barrel of the blond’s gun found its way to be pressed against the forehead of Dosu-Roku. The click of him cocking it only sent them further into fear. Panic filled the entire gang as they realized just how crazy the man before them was.

“You two, get out of harm's way. Now!” Ryo barked, his icy blue eyes glaring at them with a sort of coldness which neither have ever seen in someone. Akira and Miki happily obliged, all the while the older proceeded. “Now you lot can put a halt to what you’re doing and leave Akira alone, or else I’ll paint this entire street with your blood. I’ll even be sure to write your epitaph in it. I can see it now. ‘Rest In Peace, while they were all rapists, we still love them. May they find their retribution in Hell.’ Or even perhaps maybe nobody would care enough to even read it and it’ll be forgotten when the next rainfall begins, hmm?” Somehow, with shorter hair, Ryo looked more threatening despite the fact that it made him look younger all the same.

His words were just as harsh as his eyes as he stared at them. Immediately the group began to back off, each of them stepping away, one by one. “Good… Now run along little children, the adults have to talk.” With that the group turned tail and ran out of there as fast as they could. Ryo let out a sigh, he hated getting involved in things like that, built up the wrong reputation… he has a talk show to uphold after all. Turning towards the other two, he frowned. “Akira, there’s been an emergency.”

Out of all the things he could of opened with, Akira was not happy that it was that. He hated the concept of ‘emergencies’. They frightened him, and he definitely didn’t want those emergencies to be related to Ryo. The boy already had enough on his hands. “What? What’s wrong?” Akira inquired watching as the blond began to walk off. “I can’t explain in front of strangers, come on.” Miki seemed appalled by this, grabbing hold of Akira’s wrist as he began to walk off.

“Now wait one moment Akira, you can’t go running away like that. We have to go home! You have to do your homework! And you promised you’d help me watch Taro and to give Tako a bath!” She exclaimed, only releasing Akira when she saw how cold and hateful Ryo’s gaze was. He was terrifying and intimidating, no doubt about it. It reminded her of that story ‘the ice queen’. “Miki I have to go, I can’t just leave him. He needs me. It wouldn’t be fair to him… He’s my best friend.” 

A smirk, she could see the corners of that pretty boy’s stupid lips turn up into a soft smile before he turned away. Feeling Akira’s bag being forced into her hands, she stared for a moment, watching as the two made their way around the corner. She was stunned into silence and, for a moment, she thought she would follow but her legs never moved.  _ ‘If a boy made me very happy, than I’d give him a shot.’ _ A gasp escaped her, he did say that didn’t he!? Could it be? For a moment she wondered if Akira was in love with Ryo… 

“You can sit in the passenger seat by the way, don’t be shy.” Ryo told Akira as he climbed into the car. He nodded and climbed into the passenger seat next to him. It was… strange to say the least. He watched as Ryo easily adjusted his seat, checked a few of his mirrors, slipped on his seatbelt, and then reached for his keys. As Akira was putting on his own seat belt he observed as Ryo carefully slipped his keys into the ignition, starting the car with a trained ease. It was strange to see someone so young driving something like this. None of his friends had licenses yet… 

“So what’s this all about, Ryo?” Akira asked as he watched Ryo adjust the air conditioning. The smell of cotton candy filled the car as the air began to blow, combating the hot summer outside. It was pleasant and comfortable. The screen that was on the blond’s dashboard said it all. Seat warmers were on, air conditioning was on, everything was on maximum comfort for them. Gentle music began to play over the radio, however all the text was in English, he couldn’t read a thing. The music wasn’t in Japanese either, he didn’t know what language it was but it certainly wasn’t one he knew.

“You remember all that happened right? With my parents dying?” Ryo inquired softly. “Yeah? Why? What about it?” There was a long moment of silence as the blond drove, Akira knew where they were going, somehow his gut told him. They were going to the Asuka Manor. It was a beautiful home that Ryo’s family owned, their Japan home he called it. He had only been in it a number of times, primarily because Ryo himself hardly ever came to Japan and when he did he was more inclined to stay with Akira. Now he knew why… Considering everything with his father.

Despite the fact that he knew that the house was safe, he was terrified of the concept of going there… As though there was some hidden monster on its grounds that he couldn’t see or didn’t know of.

“My father has been abusing me since I turned 9. In the end it’s just how it’s been. But there was almost always a limit to the abuse he showed me. He never would try to kill me or harm me in a way that was going to make it obvious what was going on. But when the fire broke out, that night, it was a different story. You remember my dog John and my canary Rachel right?” Akira nodded his head, yeah he remembered them. He saw them in pictures and managed to meet John once. “Well it started when I came home from the museum one day and saw something horrifying. My father had killed my dog and my canary. He had savagely ate the canary, I don’t know how or by what means but he did, and when I found him he was stuffing the entrails of my dog into his mouth. Piece by piece. Swallowing it down in large chunks, raw.”

Akira felt the contents of his stomach churn at the thought. He hated the idea of it. It sounded disgusting and horrible. “Oh my god, Ryo! That’s awful.” He spoke, his gaze falling to his feet. He couldn’t look at the other, not when he saw the sparkle of tears in his blue eyes. “Yeah… But it gets worse… My father charged at me and bit into my own shoulder-- he was like a zombie. I managed to get him off of me, and he kept swearing up and down that I was the devil… I ran away from there as fast as I could and locked the door. I still have the scar from where he bit me.”

Silence fell, Akira looked up to his best friend to see those tears collecting in his long eyelashes. He couldn’t help himself but cry as well. Whenever Ryo cried, he did too. Regardless of if those tears dried up before they fell. Sometimes if Ryo was just feeling sad Akira would cry. He never wanted to see him hurt. “I wish that was where the story ends but it doesn’t… There was a lot worse things to come out of that… He lock picked my bedroom door and then proceeded to come in with a knife. He attempted to stab me in the chest or stomach, I’m not sure, but instead he got my leg.”

Akira peered down at his right leg, somehow he knew it was that one that was hurt. Somehow he knew that there was a terrible scar down there. He folded his hands tightly on his lap, tears beginning to stream down his face as he felt the overbearing pain that resonated within the car. “I ran from him, ducked into my mother’s room, and from there things went even further downhill. He began to axe the door that I had locked and barricaded. When he broke in, I took one of my mother’s matches and lit his sleeve on fire. It caught the rest of the house ablaze via the wooden door. I smashed through the window, but we were so high up that it didn’t really matter. I hoped my father was dead, but he wasn’t. He came rushing at us in one last ditch effort to kill me… My mother got in the way.”

Ryo’s voice hitched and Akira looked at him with big doe eyes. He saw those tears and knew that he himself wouldn’t be able to hold his own back. “Ryo…” He whispered, Akira had never heard this story, mostly because he was certain only law enforcement know it. “My mother… She was beheaded. Her head fell right into my lap that night. My father collapsed beside us. I was stuck staring for a long time before I realized that the carpet around me, and even my own clothing, was catching on fire. When I got out of there I was covered in burns… I was not in a good state.”

The blond struggled to keep his actual sobs and weeps down, simply letting the tears slip down his face and his breath come out in hitches. Akira gently set his hand on the other’s thigh, his eyes pleading him to pull over. At the next exit, Ryo pulled off and found an abandoned parking lot. He put the car into park before he let himself settle his face into Akira’s shoulder.

He held him for a while, they sat like that crying into each other, praying that the pain would go away. “Don’t worry Ryo… I understand… It’s horrible and I- I’m so sorry you had to go through that but I’m here now, okay? I’m here now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akira is the only person that Ryo will cry in front of. He's the only person that he's willing to open up and show his emotions to. Likewise, Akira can't stop the water works when Ryo cries or is sad. As such it is safe to assume that if Ryo is crying, they both are most likely crying. The rare times that occurs that is.


	37. Manor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryo and Akira go to the Asuka Manor, Ryo's house in Japan, to speak more in depth about demons...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first time, outside of demons masquerading as humans, that we see demons in the modern day. These demons are not aware, initially, that Satan is Ryo. But it's the reason they do not pursue at the end.

“My father used to be an archaeologist and my mother inherited my grandfather’s tobacco company after he committed suicide. But you know this already.” He was right to assume that he did know, Ryo had told him this a long time ago. Whatever he didn’t tell him, his parents filled in the blanks instead. It was how it went. After all, the Fudo and Asuka families were close, that’s how the Asuka family found Ryo to begin with… Akira couldn’t help but wonder if his mother regretted that now knowing everything that the older went through because of it.

“I went through my father’s notes and discovered something very interesting. You remember how I said he thought I was the devil? I think the reason for this is because he proved that demons existed.” Akira was taken aback. Demons? Ryo was the last one to say something like that. He was ruled purely by science, he’s heard it come from the blond’s own lips.  _ ‘Demons and Angels don’t exist because miracles and magic cannot exist. If there is a God out there than it’s not our place to ask questions.’ _ It was an interesting viewpoint but one that Akira himself couldn’t understand. It sounded so pessimistic, but he supposed, considering the fact that he went to a really bad catholic school, he wasn’t necessarily surprised by the outcome.

“These aren’t like the stereotypical demons that you’d find in the bible, no this is something that is completely different. Yes they have the same name and are definitely the inspiration for the creatures that appear in the ‘holy books’, but they certainly aren’t exact. It’s obvious that the humans were wrong in many respects. My father documents these demons thoroughly… There’s a lot of details missing, but he manages to do things such as categorize them and even identify some of them.”

“However there is always a price to something like this… You may be asking yourself how my father came about the knowledge that started this in the first place. Well, he went to the Chicxulub crater. This crater was apparently the location of one of the biggest mass extinction events in the history of the Earth. You know about dinosaurs, right?” Akira nodded his head with a gentle ‘mm-hmm’. “Then you know about the KT Disaster… Geologists believe that the Chicxulub crater is where that happened. In all honesty, why he was there isn’t something I truly understand. He was an archaeologist, not a paleontologist… But he happened to be on the site when the discovery of something very strange came up. Something that wasn’t natural.”

They finally arrived at the door they were traveling to. Ryo took the handle and turned it. The room was dark, Akira was having a rough time seeing and if it wasn’t for the faint moonlight from the waning gibbous he probably wouldn’t have been able to see at all. Casting glances all about his eyes settled upon something on the table. It glowed faintly in the moonlight, Akira let out a cry of fear as he ducked away, terrified. Ryo just stood still as the other ran into the hallway. “It’s not alive.” Ryo explained, his tone factual and steady. It was what coaxed the younger to return. He peeked his head around the corner to look at the strange construct once again. It looked horrifying in the light like that, almost as though it was moving through the shadows that tree branches and leaves casted into the rather large office. “What is it?” Akira asked.

“Something that isn’t natural that’s for sure. They found it just a little way away from the impact site along with many other fossils. In fact they found an entire graveyard filled with bizarre specimen that looked to be straight out of a horror movie. My father coined them to be ‘demons’. He took a handful of the specimen, and this right here, home to study more.” Ryo explained, gesturing to the object. 

“Their genetic makeup was like nothing humanly seen, and their chromosomal count was randomized.” He proceeded, moving over to the desk and opening a drawer. He pulled out a dusty old notebook. “Their remains dated back to the Mesozoic Era, some of them even dated back to the Triassic Period. At first he believed them to be some bizarre species of dinosaur, but upon talking to the natives of the era about it, they only had one answer. ‘Demons’. He attempted to get to the bottom of it, but none of it would pan out, so he got desperate. That’s when someone tipped him off… I have a hunch that it was possibly my old maid, Sirene, however I wouldn’t know that. Because of this he began his quest to try and bring back a few of these creatures.”

Ryo opened the book, thumbing through the pages before he began to read. “I was told by someone, whom of which I shall not name, about an ancient rite that will allow me to make contact with the demons. Black Sabbath. It takes two Satanic rituals and mixes them together, the Demonic Sabbath and Black Mass, two opposites to the common Christian observances of Mass and Sabbath. I shall perform my first ritual tonight. What will be required is a group of individuals. Half of which who are unaware of their situation, and half of which who are. I will draw out all the necessary symbols before they get here. I have brought in a satanic cult to help me in my research. We will be separated by reinforced walls and will monitor the activity inside via cameras. The head of the ‘church’, if you can call it that, says that there is rumor of a mythical creature that is both man and devil. I will attempt to accomplish that so I may make contact with a demon in a restricted state… However if I just see them, that's all that matters. If the experiment only results in demons appearing, we will watch them for a short period before exterminating every subject in the room with a controlled fire. That would be the most effective way to kill them. I pray that this does not turn out wrong. Hiroaki Asuka.”

Ryo looked up to Akira to see his face was filled with horror. Terror illuminated it, as though what he had just heard was some end of the world type of scenario. He looked back down to the book and began to read once again. “I performed the ritual, some of the humans merged, some of them didn’t. Those that did were not themselves anymore save for one. I shall coin this creature a ‘devilman’. Both devil and man. This entity eliminated, with speed and vigor, all of the other demons about him until he was the only one standing. With caution I spoke to him and asked him to explain to me demons and the like. He explained quite a lot. Demons were creatures that first came into existence with what are known in our language as ‘Titans’. Massive beasts that had the capability to destroy entire species if they so choose. When those died out, demons remained extinct for a period of time. However eventually they evolved back into being during the mid Jurassic period. They were not nearly as powerful but had the same desires as their predecessors. To survive and reach the top of the food chain. They attempted to reach such a point, but with demons dying left and right due to constant combat, nobody could manage it. That was until an angel came from heaven in the late Cretaceous period. This angel was named Satan by the demons, forsaking his original name as Lucifer. Satan organized the demons and became a sort of leader, they respected him because his power was so great. It was said that if he so chose to, he could rip apart entire universes. Due to this sort of turn away from Heaven however, a war broke out between the demons and the angels, resulting in a mass extinction. For it was the angels that caused the KT Disaster as a last ditch attempt to bring down the devil himself. I am not sure what to do with this information. I suppose that the only thing I can do is to merge with a demon myself… That way I can understand more of the creatures first hand.”

Akira stared for a moment, wide eyed, as Ryo looked back up at him. “S-Satan?” He asked, concern in his eyes. “So angels exist too?”

The blond nodded his head somewhat sadly. “There’s more…” He cleared his throat once again before proceeding. “I’ve done it! I’ve merged with a demon, however I am in a constant battle for control. The demon does not wish to let me have this body, but all the same for my research I must keep him from taking control. I’ve discovered the worst thing by far. I have seen the form of Lucifer, the demon showed it to me, and I am afraid that it is my own son, Ryo. He looks just like the angel… If that is the case than he is truly a monster among us and must die. I have to keep the world safe from him before his plan goes into action. This is truly a war that is divine.”

With that Ryo closed the book and threw it back into the drawer. Akira was stunned into silence. How does one even manage to respond to something like that. How was he supposed to act? There was nothing he could say hearing all of this information. Ryo? Be the devil? No. Sure it was true that Ryo occasionally has some issues with empathy, and is cold and cruel at times, but there’s no way that he is truly the devil. Judging by how he is acting now, it would seem that he wants to stop the demons not aid them. Right? Even if so, why would he be sharing this with him otherwise.

“Akira… I have to ask you for help with something.” He walked over to the statue of the demon’s head, running his fingers over the rigid stone. “What is it Ryo?” He already had a feeling he knew what he wanted. “My father wanted to protect humanity, but he was impure. He was someone that was corrupted by his own impure heart… You know what he did to me, he was doing such awful things before he was possessed. As such it is my opinion that someone who is genuinely pure hearted, someone who genuinely loves humanity, will be able to actually win out against the demon…” Akira didn’t like where this was going. He hated the idea but all the same, he knew what was needed. From the sound of it, it seemed like the demons were coming back whether they wanted them to or not.

“Akira… I believe you are the one who can do this. The only one in fact. You’re the only one I know… The only one I can trust…” Silence fell between them for a while, so many emotions fluttered through the younger before he finally said, “I… can’t do it.” The tension snapped and Akira could feel the pain radiating off of Ryo. As though he had just been smacked by someone. “What?” He asked, those blue eyes wide and full of confusion. “I can’t do it, Ryo. I can hardly read or pay attention to things, what makes you think that I’ll be able to overpower a demon? I’m nothing special, I’m just a boy who has really smart parents and who cares about you a lot. I don’t think I can do it.”

In the end Ryo couldn’t be mad at Akira for saying what he did, in fact the blond wasn’t capable of feeling that rage for he would have done the same thing. “I… I’m sorry…” Ryo muttered, dejectedly, his emotions cooling down to more of a sorrow and guilt. Why did he even think about doing that? What if Akira died? What then? Where would he be? The person that he cared about the most in this world would be gone… Then it wouldn’t be a life worth living… How could he be so stupid to even think it would work?

“I’m sorry Ryo… I just--” His voice was cut off as he heard a loud crash from downstairs. They both turned to the door, eyes wide. “Wh-what was that?” Akira whispered, to which Ryo didn’t respond. He had no clue. His hand found Akira’s and squeezed it tightly. “I have my suspicions but I really don’t want to be correct…” With their digits intertwined in a form of comfort for each other, the two approached the door carefully. This was how they used to approach the monsters in the closet as children, the physical contact between the two of them soothed them both.

The door swung open with a heavy creek only for them to be greeted to a dark hallway. They stared for a moment all around, eyes looking back and forth, scanning over their surroundings. 

“Let’s quietly make our way to my car, I’ll drive you home.” Ryo offered to him, to which Akira quickly added, “You’re staying over Ryo… I’ll say there was a home intruder. I’m not letting you come back here.” The two stared at each other for a few seconds, in the end Ryo didn’t respond. He felt too guilty to accept such an offer. As such they began to move throughout the house, quiet as mice. Another loud noise caught their attention. The sound of splintering noise and deep growling.

Neither of them could pinpoint exactly where in the house it was coming from, only the general direction. The sheer volume was not easy to identify either in the echoing emptiness that was once so full of life, but now was eclipsed by mostly darkness. Ryo’s home was like one of those old manors in scary movies… Akira hated to think that this was one of the places that he lived in… They continued to make their way through the house. Many of the doors they passed were now open instead of closed, like how they left them.

One room was Ryo’s old one, it looked terrifying now, and as they passed they both nearly jumped out of their skin hearing an old music box from the blond’s childhood. They moved a bit faster. In another room a television came on and began to blare audio from a talk show. In another room a light was flickering. Whatever was happening here, it was not pleasant and it seemed almost as though the demons were playing with them. Almost like a cat with its prey.

They moved a little faster, nearly at a brisk walking pace. They were doing well, until they got to the stairs. Ryo stepped upon one of the steps and a loud creak escaped it. The two of them made eye contact as tensions built up throughout the house. The only thought in their minds was how fucked they probably were in that moment. The air went dead, everything stopped, all sound that was once there was now gone. A low and deep growl escaped from deeper within the house, where they had come.

As soon as something came from around the corner, Akira knew they had to go. “Run!” He shouted, and with that they were both off like speeding bullets, rocketing down the stairs. The creature that had been lurking in the upstairs was beginning to come quick, looking back for just a second Akira saw the massive beast. It was a spider like creature with one lone eye in its face, growling and snarling, and rushing after them on its twelve legs. Snapping pinchers that protruded from its features.

They rounded one of the halls that lead to the front door only to see another demon standing there, keeping them from escaping. “Fuck!” Ryo shrieked, grabbing hold of Akira and leading him away. He wouldn’t let Akira get hurt, never in a million years. Unless Akira agreed to do the merge, he wouldn’t let anything happen to him -- he would merge instead if that was the case. Until he was dead upon a bed of flowers, he would never allow for Akira to be hurt in such a way.

With two demons chasing them around the manor, Ryo only saw one feasible option of escape. The window. Hopping up onto a table with ease, he charged through the window, not caring about the glass that began to cut through him as he did so. They rushed to the car, Akira following closely behind. They rounded the house and managed to slip in. Slipping the keys into the ignition, Ryo floored it out of his driveway and onto the road to the highway. They were off. The demons watched them with malevolent eyes from a distance. Watching as they vanished into the darkness beyond… How strange that they didn’t give chase… The reason for that wasn’t in his best interest.

“I’m so sorry Akira…” Ryo muttered as they drove, his heart thudding in his chest. “It’s… okay Ryo… They’re the monsters that want to kill all of humanity?” Akira asked, the blond nodded. “There’s no way for us to fight against them… Not without a human that can fight them on their own ground… Fair and square.”

Akira hated the thought but in the end he knew that he was being selfish. Most people would say that he was in his right to say no… But at the same time he didn’t like the idea of one of those creatures getting Miki, or worse, Ryo. He saw what almost happened back there. They were going to be eaten, no doubt about it. Taking a deep breath, Akira looked to Ryo and said the cursed words.

“I changed my mind… I want to become a devilman.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akira does not wish to merge with a demon primarily because he fears death himself. However, after learning that Miki, Ryo, and everyone else he loves is at risk of merging or even getting eaten by these creatures, he's quick to realize that it's not worth living if they can't be there as well. As such he decides that yes, he will become devilman, if only to protect those that he loves. I thought that this was much more plausible than Akira just deciding to merge with no pressure put onto him...


	38. Sabbath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryo and Akira go to the infamous Black Sabbath to summon a demon and merge, creating humanity's savior.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What actually happens in this chapter is up to the interpretation of the reader, it's unclear what is a drug induced hallucination or an actual event or action.

The music was like a heavy thumping heartbeat. Akira looked over to Ryo to see he was just as uncomfortable with it as he was. They felt it in their toes as they stood outside the doors of the abandoned church. How strange that they would be summoning demons in a place that was once ‘home to the angels’. The stain glass windows had long since been bashed away, Jesus’ face looked to them sorrowfully. For a second Ryo wondered if the tears on his cheeks were actually wet or if it was just a trick of the light. A statue of archangel Michael, sword raised, was deformed and facing them from the graveyard outside. The headstones overgrown with moss and mushrooms all about him. The leader of Heaven’s army ,according to lore, was relegated to protecting something that didn’t matter anymore and that was now being trampled upon.

“Ryo… What should I expect when we go in?” The answer didn’t come quickly, the blond couldn’t find the words as he stared at the giant wooden doors that led into what was once a beautiful chapel. Somehow he knew what he would find inside. A decimated Alter, a statue of the Virgin Mary weeping over so many horrible people, Jesus’ body hanging from a cross spray painted over by horrible graffiti. Somehow the realization of this all made it worse, as though there was a curse coming to them.

“You should expect a place of pure sin. You’ve grown up in a Christian household? You know the story of Sodom and Gomorrah?” He inquired softly, just barely loud enough to be heard by Akira over the pounding music. “Yeah, it was in the book of Genesis. Two cities that were so sinful that they were passed Divine Judgement and were buried in fire and brimstone.” Akira wasn’t particularly religious, but he would have to admit that reading a book like the bible was a good way to practice and always made Miki’s parents happy.

“Yes… well I believe divine judgement will be passed upon this place tonight, for we are going to go into a world that is just as bad as Sodom and Gomorrah.” Akira frowned at Ryo’s words, he didn’t like that idea at all, the idea that such horrible things would befall them for just being there. “However, I don’t think we will be punished with fire and brimstone but instead blood and war.” He settled his hand against the door, his fingers ran over the wood, and the two of them just contemplated for a moment. They made eye contact, Akira could sense Ryo’s terror and offered him a gentle smile, surprised when he got one of Ryo’s own back.

He stored the memory of his smile deep in his head, certain that when he was faced with the baring fangs of a beast from Hell, he would have to rely upon it to pull himself from the abyss. If not? Well then he just prayed that Ryo would kill him with the memory still in his mind, so he could remember that smile for all of eternity. He couldn’t help but think how out of place Ryo seemed here… He wondered if Ryo thought the same about him. The blond looked angelic with his light hair, blue eyes, and pale complexion. To be going into something to heinous didn’t seem like him.

Yet here they were, together. Akira reached out and took Ryo’s hand in his own, keeping eye contact. “Ryo… if I lose myself to a demon, please make sure that I don’t become an enemy to humanity.” He felt a break in the other, as though his heart was shattering. The hand which was once upon the door went to Akira’s cheek as Ryo pressed their foreheads together before pulling the younger into an embrace. “I promise… and you make sure to do the same for me… Should either one of us turn from our roots than the other should be the one to pull the trigger…”

The thought was macabre, but all the same was a reassurance. “I suppose it’s time to play russian roulette?” Akira asked.

“Russian Roulette indeed.”

When the door opened, Akira was greeted to quite the sight. Women and men without clothes, grinding up against each other, some of them full blown having sex on tables. Strippers and prostitutes touching themselves in front of all others to see. Druggies smoking and popping pills, someone was cutting lines of coke for others on a woman’s bare breasts. Neon light shimmered in the air, illuminating old artifacts in a distorted tone. The place reeked of alcohol and sweat. Moaning was an undertoning melody to the heavy rave music that people seemed to not even care about. Too busy lusting over each other and craving the food and drugs presented to them. A heavy smog of cigarette smoke fluttered against the ceiling, condensing thickly like a cloud.

The doors closed behind them heavily, drawing attention from the girls that were all too eager to grab ahold of them. “Hello cuties!” A young woman shouted, wearing nothing but panties, as she came up to them. Akira’s eyes couldn’t stay to her face as they flickered up and down, to her breast, to her face, to her breast, to her face, back and forth. “Is something the matter?” She inquired. “He’s never been to a Sabbath before.” Ryo answered simply and with practice. “Oh! A first timer! How lovely! Come here sugar, I’ll give ya some love!” She bounced over to which Ryo quickly stepped in. “Actually he’s with me tonight.” He spoke in a smooth falsetto, turning Akira’s cheeks a bright red.

“Ooooooooooh! You’re a boy-lover! Well we’ve got tons of those! And if that’s not your fancy we got some lovely ladies with strap ons that’ll treat you really good.” Akira wanted to protest but found Ryo grabbing ahold of his arm and hanging onto him. “We will definitely consider it, thank you~!” On that note she handed them both a pill before they were off. “B-But Ryo! We’re not dating.” Akira whined as they got far enough away from her. He was flustered beyond belief.

“You think I don’t know that, Akira? Do you really want to get an STD from one of these sluts? The only way you can keep them off you is to play gay, so you better be good at make believe.” Ryo smiled at him, seemingly mischievous in nature. “Just don’t get too handsy, it’s our first date after all.” And on that note Ryo slipped the pill onto his tongue, grabbed an unopened bottle of vodka, and drank it down. Akira’s jaw dropped before he looked at the pill in his own hand. It was snatched from the blond who put it on his tongue for him. “Come on, you have to have fun or else you won’t get a demon.” He chimed, letting him wash it down with the remainder of the vodka in the tiny plastic bottle.

Everything was a blur after that, a messy mixup of emotions. Things went wild after he found that he was drinking more and more, washing down more and more of the pills. He remembered doing such strange things, things that he swore were just fabrications of his own desires. An image of Ryo pinned down as he left hickies on his shoulder and neck with an expression showing that he wasn’t put off by it. An image of girls dancing with him, grinding up against him, laughing as they commented about how big he must be despite his small frame. An image of pills of all sorts of colors and tastes that he washed down as many other onlookers chanted ‘chug, chug, chug’. The illusion shattered, however, when the screaming began. Like a dream it fell apart.

The drugs fell away as pain resonated in his skull. Blood, there was so much blood. He saw Ryo charging around the crowd with a broken bottle, running people through with it. He cut into faces, ripped open chests, gouged out eyes, for a moment he believed Ryo to be a demon himself. The promise rang through his head -- if they should turn against their roots he was supposed to stop him. But all the same he was too caught up in his own drugged up stupor to really think straight enough. He couldn’t possibly stop him, not as he was now… Not with Ryo obviously so much more sober than him.

“Stop it Ryo!” He shouted, flash images of him grabbing hold of the blond, but he was quick to break away, continuing his havoc. The sound of a heavy crack as someone swung a bat. Down the blond fell, blood gushing from his lips, nose, and head. The crowd thickened around him and Akira found himself struggling to stop them only to be victim number two. The pain as they punched and kicked him was numbed by the alcohol. The vibrations of the music were pounding along with the blows. For a while as Akira became more and more sober, he thought that he was done for. This was the end. Death was to fall upon him.

** _POP!_ **

Darkness fell upon them. The faint flicker of candlelight was all that illuminated them. A giggling within the crowd which turned into a ruckus laughter. Akira pushed himself up onto his hands and knees as the monsters began to take shape. Laughter grew to become screams. Humans turned to monsters. Soon enough claws were drawn, teeth protruding, the screams of the damned befell them.

Ryo attempted to push himself to his feet but found that he was going to be a victim of one of these beasts. Akira got to his feet and upon hearing Ryo’s cries from across the room, was quick to try and get over to him. He had to save him -- he wasn’t a demon, these were the demons. “Ruu!” He screamed out as he felt another beast right on his tail. He wanted to hear just a breath from him as he neared, he couldn’t see the blond in the mess of bodies, he needed to save him… They promised they’d always be together, they promised that they’d grow up together. A memory penetrated the darkness.

_ “Akira you’re all I have in this world… You’re the only family I have left. If I lost you I don’t know what I would do.” Ryo’s voice was broken as they sat in the car, Akira couldn’t understand why he was so upset after they agreed to it. _

_ “I don’t want to lose you… I’d be alone if I did.” Silence fell between them, how does one respond to something like that. Akira reached over and took Ryo’s hand. “You won’t ever be alone Ryo! You’re my best friend! I won’t ever leave you!” _

He ran as hard as his legs could carry him, pumping the muscles harshly in an attempt to reach the end.

_ “Do you mean that, Akira?” _

Ryo’s voice screamed out in the darkness, a name that he didn’t recognize, “Amon! Save me, Amon!”

_ “I really do, and nothing will change that.” _

A snapping bag inside of him as the floodgates opened between him, pure energy rushing through his veins.

_ “I’ll never leave your side.” _

Darkness…

** _‘I promised you that I’d come back for you. I haven’t forgotten. Satan.’_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amon came back because Ryo called out to him, Amon recognizes that Ryo is Satan fully, as that is his mate. He would never leave him alone and promised that he would return to him regardless of what happened -- that one day they'd be reborn and see each other again.


	39. Devilman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira learns more about the body he has gained after Sabbath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akira isn't completely clear on what has changed inside of him, all he knows is that something has changed. The people around school think that he looks significantly, and acts significantly, different, but all Akira notices is his change in appearance.

“Whoa who is that?”

“That can’t be Akira, can it?”

“You mean the crybaby? Not at all!”

“Well whoever he is he sure is cute.”

“He’s not that cute.”

“Oh you’re just jealous.”

Immediately when Akira stepped upon the school grounds, he noticed all eyes focused on him. He didn’t understand why everyone was so quick to look in his direction, as far as he knew the most that happened to him was that he was slightly taller with slightly bigger muscles, not much has truly changed from his perspective. He was still the same old Akira Fudo. The crybaby who overly empathizes with others and struggles while trying to read any amount of writing.

He didn’t do much except walk calmly to his class, trying to hide the inner panic building inside of him. Was there something on his face? Was there a rip in his pants? Was there a stray hair standing up? The panic grew, and he worked hard to not allow it to paint a picture of anxiety across his face. As the day progressed he noticed key changes in his behavior and his mental space.

Firstly, he was a lot more confident. Gone were most of the social construct which he felt he was bound to. He did things that were bold, things that others wouldn’t expect someone so soft to do. When he saw a girl getting picked on, he came up to the guy bullying her, puffed up his chest, and threatened him to leave her alone or else he’d have to contend with him. 

This was only one of many examples, but all the things he did that were uncharacteristic still had a few things in common. Firstly, they were always to help someone else, it was like he still had his heart of gold but was willing to do anything to set things right. A strong sense of justice prevailed inside of him. Secondly, it took advantage of the fact that he could pummel anyone in this school with ease now, he was easily the toughest guy in the school without a doubt. And yet during class he was still shy and quiet. He didn’t feel the need to puff up his chest, he just simply tried his best.

To continue on this token, other incidents occurred that were peculiar. For example at lunch he had an insatiable appetite. It seemed no matter how much food was placed in front of him, he’d eat it all. It sure seemed that all the girls were willing to let him. Every single one of them was baffled at how he managed to survive and be so thin despite eating so incredibly much. He couldn’t help but ask the same question.

But that wasn’t the only thing he noticed… No, there was one other big shift. He could remember Ryo, once upon a time, explaining what a head space was. A world within the mind of one’s own creation.  _ “It’s sort of like your happy place, but is hardly ever truly experienced. You can feel but you hardly ever see it, if at all.” _ He had said, much to Akira’s confusion. What he felt was the presence of himself, and that was it, but now it had all changed. There was someone else there with him. Someone who shared the space and was pushing him to behave in a specific way.

“Akira… You’re acting strange.” Miki stated as she finished her warm up. They were both on the track and field team, and as such would talk to each other during practice and whatnot. “What do you mean?” He asked, tilting his head as he stretched. “I mean that you’re just… so much different. What happened to you. Did you go to one of those weird parties or something.”

She was right on the nose and he knew it. But all the same he couldn’t say anything about it. Instead he simply smiled and did a soft little head tilt. He looked like a shiba inu doing something like that. “Weird parties? No of course I didn’t!” He declined, knowing full well he was lying. “Where did you go with that weird boy than?” Miki asked in response, her green eyes narrowing. “Oh… Well… He recently lost his parents, I’ve told you about that. He wanted me to…” Akira had to think up a good lie, the memory of Ryo pinned down at Sabbath ran through his mind for a split second. That had to be a dream, he knew it had to be a dream. “To give him comfort. We just sat around and watched movies all not until he fell asleep on me. I took him to bed and then slept in the guest bedroom.” 

Miki didn’t seem to believe it one bit. “Akira, you didn’t sleep with him, did you?” His face began to glow a bright red. “No! Of course I didn’t sleep with him! Why would I sleep with him!?” Her smirk grew. “Was it not you who was talking about not minding being with boys so long as they make you happy?” She asked snarkily. “But Miki! I-I don’t think I feel that way with Ryo!” Except after Sabbath he wasn’t so sure. There was a part of him not perpetually drawn towards him. He found it hard to believe that he didn’t notice just how beautiful the blond was.

_ ‘He’s like an angel.’ _

The voice in his head startled him to attention. What the fuck was that? He looked around, seeing if anyone else was around him, only to find nobody said a word. It was a deep voice, one that he didn’t recognize from anywhere and yet… “What’s wrong Akira?” Miki asked him, her face painted with concern. “Nothing, I just thought I heard someone call my name.” Another lie, he was spreading a lot of those around wasn’t he. First that he didn’t go to Sabbath, than that he didn’t sleep with Ryo, and now that he heard his name being called… All were such heavy lies.

There was silence between them before Miki rose to her feet. “Well, whatever made you change so much, that doesn’t matter. Let’s just run.” And with that they began to make their way onto the track. Miki looked over to Miko, one of her best friends, and casted her a smile. She smiled back. Akira took note of this, and was happy for them. It was nice to know that despite the fact that they had such a nasty fight the week before, they were still good friends. Then again, they were like him and Ryo… Nothing could ever pull them apart and he was certain of it.

The pop of the gun went off and they were off. For a moment Akira felt like he was losing himself, as if he wasn’t in control. Soon enough he found himself zooming down the track, unsure of what he was doing as he ran like an animal. Everything felt so smooth, it was like the wind was permanently at his back as though, with how he was running, regardless of how bizarre, it was more aerodynamic in a way. As he neared the finish line he realized, in the last seconds, that he needed to straighten up. He needed to stop.

As such he did so, drastically reducing his speed in a way that almost made him dizzy, before jogging to the finish. The click of a timer as he found himself in a sort of daze.  _ ‘What happened?’ _ He thought to himself, shocked when he got a reply.  _ ‘I helped you assert your dominance, puny creature.’ _ Alarm flashed through his head, he looked around and while he didn’t see the source of the sound, he did see a woman standing beside the track staring at him. Her piercing blues focused on him.

She ran her fingers through her short white hair, her large chest rising and falling with a heavy sigh, before she turned and began to walk away. She was so graceful as she disappeared into the woods. Who was that woman? And why was she so focused on him? Did she have anything to do with the voice inside of his head.

“Akira!?” Miki shouted, he whirled around to face her. “What’s wrong? You look pale.” He felt faint, as though he was going to pass out. “I’m fine just… Dehydrated. Imma… Step out for a bit. You guys keep going.” And with that he left the track, much to everyone’s confusion, and proceeded to disappear into the woodlands himself. Nobody stopped him, why would they, but they all also wondered where he could be going. Nobody went into those woods, there was no reason to.

He tried to find that woman, only to find that there was no way he could possibly do it. She was gone, out of sight and out of mind, and yet her visage seemed so familiar to him. He had seen her somewhere before, and that presence in his head certainly did stir when it saw her big blue eyes. Speaking of which, what was that voice? Was that the presence in his head, or is it someone else? Someone speaking to him in some other way? Someone who is calling out to him that he just cannot see directly.

_ ‘I’m in your head.’ _

The answer came, causing the teenager to jump in shock. _ ‘Isn’t someone finicky?’  _ The voice was deep, powerful, strong, but definitely more adult than he was. “Wh-Who are you?” He asked out loud, as though that would help the other in hearing him. _ ‘I am the demon champion, Amon. I was summoned by your stunt, and voted to merge with you. I believed my mate had summoned me here.’ _ Amon… That name sounded so familiar but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was. “Who… is your mate?” He inquired, only to get a tense silence instead.  _ ‘That’s not your problem.’ _

Akira let out a sigh, this was going to be difficult wasn’t it. “Well… if you won’t tell me who brought you here, who called you here, than can you at least tell me about yourself? If we are truly merged, it’s safe to assume that we are stuck like this forever, right?” There was a sense of affirmation in his head, a reassurance that the answer was yes.

On that note Amon began his story. He spoke most of the details. About the war between demons and angels, how demons owned the world first, after a bit of warming up he even found that he was telling the human all about his childhood. Something miraculous happened that day… The demon and the human became close friends, best friends even, almost like brothers. Something strange happened that day… The perfect duo was formed within the body of Akira Fudo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amon has not died within the body of Akira, he is still very much alive and thriving inside. Something is keeping their consciousnesses separate. Whatever it is, it's unclear, all they know is that they are living together in one head space.


	40. Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira visits Ryo at the hospital to check up on his post-Sabbath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ryo's injuries are extensive, but to be quite frank they make sense for the damage done to him in the Sabbath chapter. Unlike in most series, he doesn't walk away mostly unscathed. It is also worth noting in an unrelated sense, we have reached 40 chapters as of the posting of this! A wonderful feat! Let's keep it going!

When he came into the hospital room, he felt any hope he had shattered upon the tiled floors. The state Ryo was in was somewhat abysmal. It wasn’t the worst he’s seen, at least the blond was conscious, but it was obvious he had a lot of recovery to do.

The first thing Akira noticed was the distant expression. There was a sort of bed table hovering just above his lap. A pair of headphones ran from the computer sitting atop it and into his ears. His blue eyes were distant as he watched something on the screen. Judging by that look in his eyes, he was undoubtedly on extreme painkillers. The next thing he noticed was the cast on his leg, slightly elevated and showing that he had a broken bone beneath it. His other leg was simply bandaged up with a thick red blotch upon it -- Akira wondered if he had stitches underneath… 

There were bandages that ran from his neck down into the loose nightgown which hung off his shoulders. The buttons were buttoned all the way up to his neck and the gown itself puffed out and made it hard for Akira to distinguish any features beneath it. He figured the entire torso of his friend was wrapped in bandages, another correct assumption. The cast which wrapped around the older’s wrist was also prevalent, it made Akira’s heart drop thinking of the broken bones confined within it. How terribly wounded was Ryo during Sabbath, so much so that he required to have gauze on his face and bandages which parted his hair. How wounded was he that he would need an IV drip that kept him inundated with painkillers such as morphine.

He quietly closed the door behind him, shocked that it didn’t stir the other from his distant state. He wondered if Ryo even knew he was here. Probably not… Was he just sleeping with his eyes open?

“Ryo?” Akira’s words were gentle and he felt almost guilty when the other jumped, his gaze turning towards him. It was in that moment that the younger saw the hickey upon his neck. There it was, a deep red and purple bruise just beneath his jaw line. Did that mean his dream was real? Was that what happened? Did he get so drugged up that he became just as bad as Ryo’s father? The smile that the other gave him disproved that theory, and yet there was still a concern deep in his stomach. In the end, he didn’t know what he did with Ryo, all he knew was that the other didn’t seem to mind.

“Akira…? It’s so wonderful to see you…” His voice was raspy and quiet, and yet it still held that feminine softness that always took the younger by surprise. How was it that someone so obviously broken was so kind to him. He approached his best friend, embracing him gently, careful not to get entangled in the wires and to not knock any of the casts and bandages. Akira felt Ryo settle against him in such a position, a sense of complete calmness washed over him.

_ ‘Don’t break this embrace… Keep it… He’s seeking your attention.’ _

The voice of Amon filtered into his consciousness. Akira obeyed. He didn’t fully trust the demon, but he trusted him enough to allow for these small things to occur. In the end, if Amon ruined something with Akira than they both would take the fire for something like that. He felt his hand move, not of his own volition, but he also didn’t protest the sudden control over his muscles. Fingers ran through the soft blond locks of the older as they sat in complete silence, the only sound being the soft fan of the computer doing its job.

Eventually the two of them did pull away, the warmth which radiated from Ryo was outstanding. He was like a beacon of light almost, with a glimmer in his eye that showed pure vitality. “It’s so good to see you alive… I… I genuinely thought you were dead because of what happened at Sabbath.”

Ryo giggled softly, shaking his head. “No… When you brought me here, the doctors thought that I should have been dead by that point. They said I have an amazing amount of vitality, my body is a strong one… But I suppose that makes sense considering everything I’ve been through.” Akira blinked a few times, he had forgotten, somehow, that Ryo had survived abuse, bullying, and an entire house fire. His body has to be sturdy to handle all of that and to soldier onward. “Well… what are the damages, if you don’t mind my asking?” He finally asked.

“I have a fractured skull, that’s the first thing, and a minor concussion… I also have a broken wrist and leg… My other wrist has a mild sprain. There are a few fractured ribs, but thankfully my torso is mostly in one piece…” He had gaps in his sentences, periods of pauses and quiet, most likely while he’s trying to formulate his thoughts through both the medication and the concussion itself. Akira frowned at the thought, he didn’t like seeing Ryo so hurt, and yet he was still vibrant as ever. “Don’t worry, Akira, they say I’m going to be out of here within a week…”

He settled his broken hand into the other’s lap, Akira gently took it in his own. Once again they held hands, even if it was mostly one sided. Their comfort strategy. That’s what they always did to tell each other there was nothing to be scared of. They were a group, they were a pack, nothing would make them seperate. So long as they were together, they would make it out alright… They did this time.

“Ryo… What happened to me last night?” Akira asked, reaching out and caressing the hickey on the blond’s neck. Those blue eyes went wide for a second, but relaxed once again. “And who… did that to you?” He wanted to know, he wanted to know if that was just his twisted dream, or if it was reality. “That? The hickey?” Ryo inquired, to which Akira nodded. “That… I don’t remember how I got it. During Sabbath definitely.”

Akira sometimes knew when Ryo was lying, now was one of those times. He knew more than he was letting on, but he didn’t want to press it. If Ryo didn’t want to talk about it than that was it. Nobody was going to talk about it. “As for what happened during Sabbath… It’s obvious… You merged with a demon…” He said it almost as though it was the most casual thing in the world. Almost as if he hadn’t just survived something so downright terrifying. 

“What happened to all those people back then? I don’t remember anything after getting… Well, after taking all those pills.” Akira tried to explain, to which Ryo simply tilted his head. “Well… I’m going to be honest with you Akira… We are the only survivors of that party. When interrogated by police I said we were at the party and there was a massive terrorist attack, or some sort of mass killing. Whatever demon corpses were there are no longer there anymore, I don’t know what happened to them, but they’ve long since gone. If you look at the news, you’ll see it… A terrorist attack. When asked what I was doing at the party, I gave them the honest truth. Or at least what they believed to be the real honest truth.” Ryo explained to him.

“Which is?” Akira pushed lightly. “Well that you weren’t there at all and that I went to numb the pain of losing my parents and my entire house. They bought into the story, and now I’m free. They don’t think I had any involvement, partially because I’m the only witness that survived the encounter. I said that the terrorists released some sort of weapons and many animals into the party. I survived only by playing dead and letting myself bathe in the blood of others. They believed it.”

Akira needed a moment to process this all. He pulled over a chair to the side of the bed, growing tired of sitting on the edge of the mattress. He leaned back in the white chair, letting his brain grasp the idea of what he was being told.

This was crazy, this was truly crazy. There is no way that this is going down the way it is. Yet here they were. _ ‘And here you are stuck. There is no way you would be getting rid of me now. Whether you like it or not. I was brought here and here is where I will stay.’  _ Amon chimed in the background, seemingly proud of himself. “Amon.” Akira spoke suddenly, drawing Ryo’s attention. “What was that, Akira?” The blond inquired softly, confusion evident on his features. “That’s the demon’s name. It’s Amon. Does the name ring a bell to you in any way.” He remembered hearing it at Sabbath, the voice rang over and over in his head, and no matter how many times he replayed it, he knew exactly who the voice belonged to without a doubt.

It was Ryo who called out to him.

“Not directly… The name sounds familiar, but I don’t know where I heard it from… It’s probably from a movie or book, something along those lines. I imagine the demon you merged with had to be strong, and most likely infamous because of it.” Ryo answered back, as truthfully as he could. This time Akira could see no lie in those eyes. He was telling the complete truth. All the same, however, he knew it was Ryo who called out to Amon… And all the same he could feel Amon’s urge deep inside of him to just grab onto Ryo and pull him into a tight and protective embrace.

“So what about you, Akira?” He perked up, curious. “You have asked me about how I feel after everything… What about you…” Ryo dreamily looked over to the other, eyes soft and gentle. Loving almost. “I’m… fine, just getting used to this new body. I eat a lot now, I’m always hungry, and I can’t sit still. But for the most part I’m just the same old Akira Fudo… Although, I don’t think the demon died when it merged with me.” The blond blinked a few times as though concerned. Every single one of his notes stated that a demon would die, or a human, when merged. 

Whichever one didn’t take control would no longer exist, especially within the body. So how is it, then, that Akira can hear Amon speak. It’s not normal. “So… does he speak to you?” Ryo asked, his eyes showing that concern within him. “Yeah he can, but he seems pretty passive. He just feels… tired. Like he wants to go back to sleep. He keeps talking about his wife. I wonder if somehow you remind him of her.” A soft laugh, but it seemed Ryo wasn’t laughing with him. It quickly died off.

“Will he give you the name of said wife?” Akira simply shook his head in response, to which the two of them sighed. There was no use speculating it, not while Ryo was in such a condition. “Oh well… Let’s truly talk about the elephant in the room. When I’m healed and discharged, we will begin to hunt demons… We will clean the streets… I will go with you for a few hunts but just know I cannot go on all of them…” Ryo explained, to which Akira fully understood. “Honestly, if you just want to stay home than--” He was cut off as the blond shouted, “Never in a million years.” There was aggression in what he said, one that truly set in the finality of it.

In the end Akira had to blindly trust that Ryo wouldn’t die due to his own desire to protect him. But of course it’s not like he has a choice, he’s like a blindman walking around in a mirror maze. Incapable of anything but feeling around in the darkness with only Ryo’s voice to guide him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ryo knows about what Akira did during Sabbath, but he won't reveal it to Akira himself. The fact of the matter is that they had a near fully sexual encounter, but Ryo cut it off before it could get into any really hot and heavy territory. He then lies about it so that way Akira isn't uncomfortable by it.


	41. Intuition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amon and Akira come to terms with each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided not to cover the fight with the gang because I felt like it would be somewhat boring and it'd be much more entertaining to talk about Amon and Akira and their relationship instead since it's hardly touched up upon.

_ ‘Oh fuck! What did I just do!?’ _

Akira was in shock as he stared at the beaten and bruised bodies of the gang members which had terrorized him just two days prior. They were unconscious and dazed, almost as though they weren’t aware of what had happened to them. He held his hand up in front of his face, flexing it and clenching it. He did it with only one hand, he didn’t even use the other one.  _ ‘You followed your intuition… Now get the hell out of here before someone tries to get revenge or something.’ _

Akira didn’t need to hear that twice, he was off in a flash. He saw Miki slip her head around a corner to see the damage he had caused, but her features vanished from his view as he sped away. His blood was pumping, a dull throb in his skull, as the adrenaline propelled him forward. No… He wasn’t the violent type. He hated fighting, and yet here he was, beating that gang up. He hoped he didn’t cause any permanent damage, but judging by Amon’s proud energy, he had a feeling that those boys wouldn’t just be walking such an encounter off.

_ ‘Why are you running, why don’t you take credit for what you’ve done?’  _ Amon asked him, he could practically see the beast in the back of his mind, frowning at him as his subconscious self kept his eyes focused on the world around them. _ ‘Because I’d rather not be pinned with murder, thanks.’  _ There was confusion, he could feel it. _ ‘Murder? What’s that?’ _ How could this old man not know what murder was!?  _ ‘You know? Murder? To kill someone unlawfully!’ _ Amon didn’t seem to understand anymore with that explanation, making Akira sigh heavily. Of course he didn’t understand, he was a vile demon… Why did he expect any amount of humanity in a creature that was anything but.

_ ‘You fought them fair and square, therefore you deserve the final blow. That’s how we did it way back when. If you fell in battle, it was an honor.’ _ Amon explained to Akira, his tone matter of fact. ‘Well this isn’t then, things are different now.’ The agitation he felt irked him. Of course he’d be angry.  _ ‘No wonder you humans are so frail and weak -- you don’t let nature take its course. You lot could be so much stronger if you weeded out the fools and the violent.’  _ He explained, his tone harsh.  _ ‘Well we don’t really have that luxury, instead killing is a big no-go.’ _

Amon huffed, Akira imagined that if he could see him he’d be stomping his feet. He had only seen the demon a few times over the course of their merge, but he knew his distinct appearance. He was quite the beast to behold, but regardless he definitely served his purpose. Yet the thought of the demon stomping his feet, with those black feet pads, made him giggle just a little bit. He didn’t care about the claws that protruded from his toes or hands, those little ‘beans’ were enough to put him in better spirits.

_ ‘Amon, I have a question for you.’  _ Akira began as he came into the house, his thoughts drowning out everything else. It felt strange to talk to someone else in your head. He felt crazy, he wondered if this is what people with Dissociative Identity Disorder felt like. At least Amon wasn’t craving the desire to be known, it seemed the demon was more than content, for some reason, to sit quietly in the background.  _ ‘What is it, Akira?’ _ The demon responded as the human walked through the house.

Akira let himself fall onto his bed, closing his eyes, and allowing his mind to wander away. He thought about those boys, he thought about the fighting and how he must have terrified Miki, he thought about how everything was so much different now that it was overwhelming. He couldn’t help but wonder who was trustworthy and who wasn’t, he couldn’t help but wonder what could be believed.

_ ‘Would you ever hurt me… Or us, Amon?’ _ There was a long period of silence, all the while Akira let his mind drift. When he was still in his head he found himself in a world far different from the one he came from. He was standing in a pure white space, clouds made up the floor, and it felt like the sky above them was clear as could be -- and yet there was no sun. Before Akira, where the beast of Amon stood, he saw nothing but darkness beneath his feet. Somehow the demon radiated a midnight hue all about him as he stood there. All the while those eyes were soft and gentle. Almost kind in a way.

_ ‘Do you want the simple or the complex answer?’ _ Amon inquired gently, letting his body settle upon the ground. His armored tail flicked back and forth in an almost hypnotizing gesture.  _ ‘Complex.’ _ Akira responded after a moment.  _ ‘I shall protect you just like my wife has obviously requested of me, however, if you should ever go against him and show him aggression than I shall kill you without hesitation. I will take my claws and fasten it around your heart and squeeze until you are dead. I will retreat and allow for the violence of battle to rip you apart. I refuse to aid you in fighting someone like him for not only will you die due to his sheer power, but I promised him when I made him an adult that I would never hurt him.’ _ The response shook him to his core.

The demon seemed dead set on this, storm clouds bellowed beneath him, flickering with lightning to reflect his rage.  _ ‘But you still won’t tell me who your wife is.’ _ Akira complained audibly.  _ ‘Because judging by the angelic imagery all about your home and the cross you wear around your neck despite now being merged, you would definitely go against me if I did. If there is one thing I know about my wife it’s that he’s despised by angel kind… Not like it’s hard for them to hate you.’  _ Akira found this to be strange… He was taught that angels were lovers and demons were haters, and yet from what it sounded like the exact opposite was true. Then again, aren’t demons deceptive.

_ ‘I can hear what you’re thinking of, Akira. You’ll never get into Heaven. Better stop having that fantasy. You gave your body to a demon, you share your soul with me now. You rebirthed me into the world with your own energy. We are bonded together for eternity, for as long as we shall live, and should you die and fall upon the steps of Heaven they will cast you down to Hell regardless… Besides, if my wife has requested that I protect you, than already it means that one of Heaven’s greatest enemies has taken a liking to you. They would never allow for one of his ‘prizes’ to hide away in Heaven. Not when they don’t know why he’s fond of you…’  _ Akira was shocked as he watched Amon rise to his feet, approaching him, with those steps the darkness followed.

Amon towered over him, his expression was harsh and yet in those eyes was acceptance that Akira has never known. Somehow they are exactly the same and yet all too different. He found that, with the demon right before him, he only came up to his collar bone and that he had to crane his neck to look up at him. Those giant wings spread out, large and powerful. There was both intimidation and kinship in this moment. ‘ _ You’ll protect me even if I am killing others of your kind.’ _ Amon’s smile was sharp and aggressive, and yet it also held power in it.  _ ‘Of course I will… A demon’s dream is to die in battle after all. So long as I don’t have to fight my love than I will be happy to serve you in any way you shall need.’  _ There was an ultimate sense of reassurance in that moment.

It wasn’t a surprise that as time went on the two of them wound up speaking more in depth. Amon had settled upon the floor of this mind scape and Akira had long since taken a position in his lap -- the warmth for which the demon radiated was immense. There was a powerful strength in the body of the beast. He was confident that the other would protect him. He would protect him until the end… He knew it. Unless the end entailed that mysterious lover that he brought up.

They spoke about all sorts of things. Culture, foods, history, backstory, whatever they could they spoke about. _ ‘A, I, U, E, O, Ka, Ki, Ku, Ke, Ko…’  _ Akira chanted from his younger days, to which Amon happily repeated. The symbols being drawn into the air for him to read should the time arise without having to pull from Akira’s memory.  _ ‘If you flap your wings like this than you can elevate faster and without using as much energy.’ _ Amon told him as he took to the ‘sky’, Akira following suit. He wasn’t nearly as quick, but he managed to keep up. It was a false sky, but it still felt amazing to just sore above it all.

_ ‘This world has changed so much from when I was alive… When I was alive giant lizards stomped upon the Earth. When I was alive humans weren’t even a thought. When I was alive the world was fair.’ _ Amon rambled on, smiling to the human, those brave eyes solid and still. There was a free spirit in them, and Akira could see it. There was something so childish within. A youthful glow that isn’t seen in much of anything else.  _ ‘Would you ever want the world to return to how it was?’ _ He asked gently, not surprised when the demon nodded.  _ ‘I’d give anything to bring back the world my wife fell in love with… The world that he died to protect… The world that we buried our child within.’  _

The child’s name was going to be Lucius… He remembered Amon telling him that. It hurt his heart to think about it. That something like that could happen. It wasn’t fair -- it wasn’t far at all. Why did he have to hurt like that.  _ ‘Amon I--’ _

“Akira!”

Akira jolted awake in shock, his room was dark by this point and he could feel perspiration beading down his face. He sat up, looking to the door. It was closed, but judging by the knocking it was obvious someone wanted to get in. He rose to his feet and made his way to the door, turning his lamp on in the process. Opening the door he found Miki standing there. “Come one sleepy-head, it’s time for dinner…”

She began to walk away, turning back only to tell him, “Those boys you beat up… They’re fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amon and Akira's agreement of working together unless Amon's mate gets involved will remain a constant weight in their relationship. No matter what happens, Amon will happily aid Akira, so long as it doesn't justify the relationship they have with Amon's mate... whoever that is.


	42. Siege

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Demons attack the Makimura household, with the master of it all hidden out of sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I describe Devilman using mostly the Crybaby design, mostly because I like how fuzzy and soft he is in that version, but if the OVA or Manga versions of Devilman suit your fancy, than it's not impossible to fill in those blanks.

The wind through her feathers was magical. She let herself feel it brushing past her, the darkened clouds providing excellent cover. Lightning flashed about her, thin streaks that grazed her frame. She could feel the static but knew that not a single one of those bolts would strike her. She remembered the ages before, when her and Satan would fly through storms. Dangerous things to fly through but they would do it anyways. They would dance around each other, sometimes touching sometimes worlds apart. Regardless of such those nights were the nights she felt the most beautiful.

Now she felt like nothing but a harbinger of death.

She began to plunge towards the Earth, slowing to a gentle glide as she allowed herself to perch upon the rooftop of the Makimura house. The rain was streaking down her features, soaking her to the bone. The moon, she knew it was above the clouds, but it was blinded. She didn’t want her to see anyways… It’s said that Aotz, the former queen of Terra, left for the moon when her son was freed. In a motion of respect she could recall Satan and Amon turning to the moon, wherever it was, to ask it for guidance in their coming ventures. They respected the moon and everything it was.

They respected Aotz and everything she was.

Sirene had heard such awful stories, stories about how a human had merged with Amon and won out. She heard about the demons speaking of how Amon was dead, no questions asked. The bird knew that couldn’t be the case, no… Never could it be the case. She just had to awaken Amon within him, she just had to bring him to the front. If the rumors were true, however, than she’d happily kill the human for which incited them. She would get revenge for the demon she knew to be her family.

What would Satan think if he knew about this? That his mate was very possibly being controlled by a human? She could only imagine the rage he felt… When was the last time she had seen Ryo Asuka, anyways? When she took that terrible corpse of Lucius out of the basement must have been it… How awful that father was, why anyone allowed that man to adopt a child was beyond her but regardless, Satan didn’t deserve the suffering that was dealt to him. She embraced herself thinking about it.

She loved that angel… She loved him in the way a lover does. He viewed her as a sister, which she was fine with so long as she could be by his side. She cared for him… She wished she could be the one to mate with him, but he was an entity driven by love… He had fallen in love with Amon. A shaky sigh escaped her as she watched lightning streak overhead. The world was bathed in darkness.

“Gelmer… Agwell… Salvolv…” The three demons, she could feel them listening to her, even if she could not hear or see it. “Create a storm within this home, lure out the one that calls himself Devilman, give your lives for the king of Terra, I will free him from his human prison cell.” She commanded this, knowing full well that the only person higher within the demon army than herself was that of Jenny. The demons abided by her order, she felt their presence begin to penetrate the protection of the house.

Someone once said that a demon needs to knock in order to enter a household… That is not the truth. No demon nor beast would ever need to rap upon someone’s door to be allowed entry to their home. The devil will do no such thing either, lest you have something he very much wants and is taking care of. Those are just stories of evil for which the angels have sewn into the common culture and mythos of humanity. In the end, the reality of the situation dictates that no demon shall halt in their retrieval of those within… They will hunt down their revenge and take it in their teeth.

Gelmer, a water demon, was the first to penetrate the quiet household. His form disappearing into the flowing tap. He came upon a room, a bathroom of sorts, and saw such an interesting sight. A girl getting in the bath. Yes, this would be his target. Agwell, on the other hand, traveled through the floor via mud. His travels took him to a bedroom, two adults were getting ready to go to sleep, he saw this and believed this to be his chance. Yes, he would cause so much unending trouble. Finally there was Salvolv, a beast of wind who was hidden from view, invisible to the eyes of many as he traveled like a snaking mist. The kitchen was where he found himself to see that the one that called himself Devilman was aiding a small child in making himself a cup of… something.

Salvolv loathed this warm sight, he would not allow for something like this to continue.  _ ‘Demon! They’re here!’  _ Akira jumped at the sudden voice in his head.  _ ‘Akira hurry!’ _ Amon was trying to protect him, unknowing that they didn’t need to retrieve their friend. That Amon’s mate had asked of him to hide within the human body of Akira Fudo. In that moment, without another second’s hesitation, Akira could see the mist solidifying. Taro noticed it too… 

He let out a scream, one that was the gong for the battle to begin. The beast lunged forward, showing his true form, which had caused Taro to begin to run as fast as he could out of there, shrieking all the while. The beast had a rectangular head, elongated with rows of sharp teeth. Its wings were massive and it ran on two clawed feet. Black eyes peered with darkened hatred, the depths of purgatory were visible within them. It was enraged, there was no question, and it wanted him dead.

Using amon’s instincts, he grabbed hold of the demon and countered against it, throwing it against the table. The beast surged, rolling over back onto its haunches upon the floor and charged again.

In a panic, Akira grabbed hold of a chair and smashed it against the beast. It shattered into a storm of millions of pieces all while he fell to the ground, dazzled. He didn’t give it enough time to respond and recover, instead he plunged the fragmented wooden leg of the chair deep into the head of the beast. It let out an ugly screech in panic. The blood burned him as it landed upon his flesh, he withdrew with concern in his eyes. He wondered how he was going to hide the corpse but in an instance it began to melt away.

The beast vaporized leaving just a pool of yellow, hissing blood behind. Of course, however, Amon knew this wasn’t the only demon that had come here. He knew the posse already. This was the storm trio. Agwell, Gelmer, and Salvolv.  _ ‘Find Agwell… He’s in the Earth and is a much bigger threat than Gelmer in this world. Once upon a time Gelmer was more dangerous due to his sheer strength, but having lived inside of this body with you for almost a month truly has shown me that water is well controlled.’ _

Akira agreed quietly and began to run all throughout the house, checking every room he could, startled to his senses when he heard someone scream from a ways away. It was Mr and Mrs Makimura! He ran to their bedroom and tore open the door to find them being swallowed by the ground, screaming and shouting. A large beast with a maw big enough to swallow his entire leg in one bite was attempting to eat them up as they sank. “God dammit!” Akira shouted, rushing towards the adults.

_ ‘Stuff him full, Akira! It’s the only way to push them out!’ _ Akira knew what he meant, and so he began to pick up items to throw into the maw of the beast. Books, furniture, pillows, blankets, Agwell ate it all. He truly looked like a pile of mud with eyes and antennae, he wouldn’t be terrifying if he wasn’t extending his size to eat everyone around him. To eat  **everything** around him. While Akira dropped item after item within the whole, he noticed the Makimura family beginning to claw their way out of it.

It was working, the displacement was doing its job. Soon enough the duo were free and had found solid ground. Akira was quick to lift them up and rush them out of the room, he settled them on the sofa in the living room -- he hoped this would do enough to halt Agwell, at least for now. Mr and Mrs Makimura promptly fainted after this. The devilman returned to the room where the demon resided, he saw Agwell chomping down upon the inventory placed in his mouth.

“You’ve come back to fight me -- how dare you ruin my snack… You’ll go to hell for this.” He threatened, before rushing towards them.  _ ‘Akira! Transform!’ _ In an instant, Akira allowed for his figure to shift into that of Devilman, he trusted Amon and wouldn’t allow for any hesitation to linger. Black fur bloomed upon his legs, blue fur covered the remaining, a crest upon his head and wings which spread out wide.

‘Grab hold of him! Hurry! Once you have him, use your temperature manipulation to freeze him!’ Amon’s orders were quick, and Akira trusted them completely. He grabbed a hold of Agwell as he came towards him, the beast felt slimy and slippery but he wouldn’t let his grip falter. Slowly and steadily he began to chill the monster. A careful freezing that slowed the demon. Eventually he found the creature was no more than pottery and with one punch it shattered into a million pieces. The mud and rivers of Earth began to vanish, soon enough everything was back to what it was.

_ ‘There is one more! Gelmer! I think I know where he is! He’s most likely in the bathroom!’  _ Alarm set off in Akira’s head. Miki was in the bathroom! He shifted back into his human form as he ran, he had to keep his form as Devilman a secret, she mustn’t know -- nobody could know about his identity. By the time he got to the bathroom, the attack was already underway. Miki was drowning, as he burst through the door he could see it. This was not good at all.

Rushing forward, he charged Gelmer who, startled in shock, dissipated. Managing to snatch Miki’s naked body, Akira ran from that bathroom with the tidal wave of water following after him. He retreated into Miki’s room, slamming the door and throwing her onto her bed. She was unconscious, he assumed from having swallowed water. He got ready to fight Gelmer when suddenly he felt hands on his shoulder, he turned around to see Miki there. She threw her arm back before unleashing a punch 

Akira felt her fist crack against his nose, the scent of blood filled his nostrils. No this was not good. _ ‘Hypnotism! She is being controlled! Hypnotize her!’  _ What a wonderful idea that was. He locked eyes with her and, continuing to duck away from her blows, he began to create the small motion cues that would lull her into exhaustion. It took about three minutes of this before she began to show signs of fatigue. Once that began, it was only a matter of time before she collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.

He pulled her up and began to pat her on the back like he was taught. The water came up quickly, and soon it was on its way back to its host. Once more he put Miki in bed… He knew that Gelmer would be coming soon, having realized how to get in. The water began to seep underneath the crack of the door, taking shape as it went along. But of course, Akira was prepared for it. He took the blanket and threw it onto the beast. It was startled, until it began to feel a hot burning.

An instant passed before the beast was engulfed in flames. Steam bellowed all around it. Soon the room became just as clouded as the bathroom most likely was. Gelmer roared in rage and agony until eventually the blanket was entirely burned away, leaving just the body of the beast without any substance to it. He hissed at Akira, eyes narrowing, before the other began to rush at him. A screech as the four legged beast began to retreat. However he was not quick enough for soon those claws were upon him.

In an instant the monster was dead, its body ripped apart and then melting away into a puddle of water and yellow goo. A laugh of victory escaped him, for once Akira felt like he had made progress. He had hunted demons before, he knew he had, but now he felt that he truly had made something of an impact. He had marked his territory. And yet there was still an uncomfortable silence.

_ ‘Why aren’t you celebrating Amon?’ _

_ ‘Because it’s about to get worse…’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Solvolv is an OC demon created in part by yours truly and chocolapine.


	43. Demon Bird

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira must fight his most dangerous opponent yet, the demon bird Sirene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The nature of Ryo's instincts are linked directly to him being Satan and the fact that he attended Sabbath. Over the course of the next few chapters he will begin to show more and more mysterious abilities. Akira just believes he's just really smart and has very unique talents, the truth is that Akira wasn't the only one that changed during Sabbath.

“Akira!?” Ryo bolted upright in his bed, staring out into the darkness, his heart thumping in his chest. There was such an anxiety in him, somehow he knew what was happening. The light in his bedroom flicked on, his attention turned to see Jenny standing there, concern evident on her face. “What’s the matter?” She inquired gently to him, reaching into her breast pocket to pull out a handkerchief. She approached and wiped his brow for him, never would she have guessed what he would have answered with.

“It’s Akira… he’s in danger. He’s in such danger that I need to go save him.” She was taken aback, eyes wide. “B-But Young Master, you’re still hurt. You are recovering from your injuries still. Your concussion may be gone but your skull is still healing from its fracture, your wrist still has a few weeks to go at least, the same goes for your ribs and leg. You are recovering quickly, that’s true, but I simply cannot let you get out of this bed without knowing these things.” They stared at each other for a long while, before she felt that she just had to yield. She knew why.

“Must you go to him?” Jenny asked one more time, before Ryo nodded in affirmation. “I promised myself I wouldn’t lose any more of my family, he’s part of that.” He rose from the bed, taking his crutches with him, and beginning to move to his car. “Let me drive! Please, young master, you guide and I’ll take you.” He was shocked at her offer, but agreed to allow her to take him to where he knew Akira was.

_ ‘My dear lord Satan. If only you knew what you were doing was going against your own vow to protect your family. But I suppose that when given the choice, you would pick Amon anyways. You would pick that boy Tabris. Lovers of your past and your now… So infatuated are you, I can see it and I could smell it in that hospital room.’ _

_ ‘Above you, Akira!’ _

The warning came a moment too late, talons broke through the ceiling and dug into his form. Akira let out a scream of pain as he was pulled into the air, his blood splattering all over Miki’s body and the room he was being pulled from. Up into the air, darkened sky with gales powerful enough to knock a bird out of flight. Burning electricity surged through his flesh. Amon’s voice, once a guttural growl, went silent. It was almost as though a wall was put up between them, one that isolated everything. No shared thoughts, powers, words, everything became static.

“I’ve waited so long, Devilman, to finally dig my talons into you! To think that all I needed to do was wait for you to reveal yourself. How foolish!” Her voice, somehow, penetrated the gales and echoed beyond the storm. Just like he felt her talons burying themselves into his form, he could feel her words digging deep into his mind. “What do you want, harpy!?” He shouted out, his words still holding confidence despite the fact that the demon inside of him was repressed. He was more angry than anything about the situation that had unfolded itself.

“The name is Sirene, and I came to awaken the demon inside of you. The demon that you have taken control of! Amon, he must awaken! His wife desires for him to return to us, I doubt he will be very happy to see him overtaken by a human!” She growled out, a hissing sound as her talons gripped tighter. “Who is this wife that everyone is talking about!?” She scoffed, dipping low and flying in between the tall buildings of the city.

“You humans are so quick to hate and loathe, with your bibles, greedily taking in the fallacies for which angels tell you. Tell me, Devilman, have you ever truly met the Great Demon Lord Satan? Have you ever spoken with him, face to face?”

Satan? Angels? Truly they all couldn’t be real. Demons were real, this is true, but he didn’t actually believe that everything else was inherently real along with it. Somehow he never fully believed it, and yet here he was getting confirmation. “Satan?” Akira repeated, before he finally said, “Has not every human met Satan in one of his forms?” He could feel the rage radiating from on the other side of that wall in his head. Amon was not happy… It connected in his head, Satan was the individual that Amon had grown to love. “Never! Never ever! He would not ever grace a human with his visage!”

She sounded like an angry bird as she swooped down and smashed his body through a concrete wall. Sirene would not tolerate such terrible assumptions. This was Satan they were talking about. This was the angel for whom she had grown to love… The angel that Amon had mated with. “It’s fools like you that costed us our prince!” She hissed hatefully, her tone telling Akira that any more words spoken out of turn would not be tolerated. The idea of being humiliated like this was horrible.

“Why don’t you just kill me, Sirene!?” Akira shouted aggressively after a while. “Why must you humiliate me in such a way?” She laughed at him. “Like you did not humiliate Amon? No! I would kill you if you were a proud demon warrior, but that’s not what you are! What you are is a bug! You are part of this awful species which has taken our world and turned it into something so horrible! Damn it’s hideous… this world, what have you done with it…?” She felt tears sting her eyes as she looked out at what was once paradise… She missed their home. While their home was upon the same soil, only slightly disrupted by that awful meteor, this was still not it.

“I can’t possibly be blamed for all the sins the rest of humanity has committed!” Akira argued, struggling against her talons, only to feel them dig even deeper into him. The stabbing pain was awful.

“Silence! You have taken our Lord’s husband, for that you must pay!” She made a move to swoop down and land another blow, when she felt something pierce her side. She let out a cry as she released Akira from her grip. Scanning around to find where the hit came, she saw someone standing on a ledge. He looked terribly wounded, but he was still holding a gun upon his shoulder. He took aim and let out another shot, it grazed her cheek and split it open, yellow blood oozed from the wounds.

“Foolish human! How dare you intervene in our holy battle!” She began to swoop towards him, dodging the bullets, only to find herself stunned. No! It couldn’t be! Was that really!? “Ryo…” She whispered breathless and made an attempt to pull up from her trajectory. Alas she couldn’t fast enough and wound up battering him off of his ledge. Ryo let out a cry as he lost his balance, down he fell from his high ledge.

“Satan!” She cried and dove down to catch him. In a panic she dug her talons into his form, hearing him scream again in pain was one of the worst things she could hear. She didn’t know just how much he had endured. This was his plan all along… He planned to merge Amon and Akira. How awful of a thought but then again… Human love. She threw Ryo onto grassy ground, taken into a period of grief at seeing his unconscious visage. How much pain must he endure before God deems it enough? Not only will he lose his ‘sister’ but he will also be faced with a choice when he awakens. To fight or to save.

She prayed that perhaps this would be different, perhaps he would grow to love someone other than the angel for which he knew in Heaven… But love truly never grows old. He fell in love with Akira that first time, that first time loop, and from then on he must repeat over and over again the age old story. Rebirth, live, trauma, survive, merge, love, destroy, awaken, fight, loss, repeat.

She let out a shaky breath as she looked to the clouded sky.

“Aotz… Provide us guidance, please. Spare your son.” And on that note, she shot up into the sky to resume her conflict. The two of them searched for each other for a while, and when they found each other once more in the sky, the battle was on. They struck each other, ripping and clawing. Sirene used lightning, Akira used fire, they clashed against each other over and over again. By the time it was over, the two of them were coated in blood, red and yellow mixing into an ugly orange hue.

Her wing was wounded, that’s what finally got them to land upon a grassy island away from others. Yes, this would be the perfect place for a final showdown. She hid in the trees like the harpy she was, roosting and trying to live just long enough to take down the human. She had dispersed her hands moments before while they were in flight, knowing full well that the talons would most likely pierce his body. Praying that it would rip through his skin, and it had. However, her mind was distracted.

When they finally were battling in a war of wits, it was Satan who caught her attention. She found that she could not concentrate as Amon planted those memories into her head as they stood head to head, antennae intertwined, her claws coming towards them.  _ ‘Sirene, you must spare him…’ _ Amon whispered to her, within her mind she could feel his warm presence, tall and powerful.

_ ‘Amon… I have to free you from that human.’  _ She argued.  _ ‘But this human is one that Satan has grown to love, his human counterpart has fallen for this human, while his angel self continues to love me within. You must remember this. In the end we are doing this for him. You cannot allow for him to die.’ _ Amon explained to her, his voice warm and gentle, as he was talking to an old friend. _ ‘I cannot just let him kill me.’  _ Sirene shot back.  _ ‘Then prove that he is strong enough to withstand the devil’s love.’ _ The idea hit her with a harsh shock, but by that point her fate was decided.

A scream escaped her as her claws penetrated her own body, she vomited up her own yellow blood and gore, it splattered against the ground in a disgusting rainwater display. “No… No, look what you did!” She shrieked, however Akira knew it wasn’t towards him. It was towards the demon. He didn’t know what they spoke of, he just knew that Amon had spoken. She charged towards him, however in an attempt to finally put her down, he grabbed ahold of the wing on her head and tore it straight off. 

Her shrieking was painful and agonizing, but Akira couldn’t do anything about that. He felt horrible watching her struggle to get away, watching her bloody, and near death, pleading for some way to kill him. That’s when the underlings appeared. He fought them off as best he could, distracted, believing full well that Sirene was no problem by this point, she was best off dead.

“Please! Give me a way to test his strength and his resolve! Give me a way to fight against him! I need to prove the idea that he is fit to be Satan’s lover! Please Zenon! Give me the power to please your mother!” Zenon is a demon created by artificial means. Mothered by the devil himself. From infancy to adulthood it was the demon who served him and protected him. With the knowledge that was it so surprising that he did as she asked. From where he was, hidden away in Mt. Fuji, he ordered many demons to come to her aid. His fellow demonic general. Kaim was one.

Sirene was surprised at first, shocked to see Kaim of all people standing before her. “K-Kaim…” She whispered, this was a demon she had known since she joined the demon army. He was known as Satan’s steed for the angel was fond of taking naps on his back when they would have to migrate on occasion. She always found it sweet how the beautiful and powerful Satan needed rest, and even more so how tender Kaim was with him in moments of his rest and sleep.

“Sirene… Merge with me.” She was taken aback by this. “What!? But if I merge with you, we most certainly will die!” The idea seemed terrible, it was like a death sentence. “I don’t care about that… All I care about it your happiness… Ever since I met you I believed you to be the most beautiful thing in the world, even bloodied and hurt I still cannot get over your visage. If I had the ability to mate with you, I would, but it’s just not possible. Our species of demon is far too different and not only that but I know your feelings towards Lord Satan and Amon. I know I can never have your heart, but I can at least witness your happiness. You have a genuine desire to make Satan’s life better, to test his lover, but that’s not the only reason. You wish to protect and ensure you don’t die in vain. I shall never allow for something like that… Please, Sirene, merge with me. Together we can prove his valor and power, together we can conquer devilman, or we can die knowing that we did all we could for our Lord. If I shall die, than I will be happy.”

She was paralyzed, shaking her head aggressively. “No Kaim! I cannot allow for that!” But it was already too late. That tail of his was wrapping around his skull and beginning to tear his head from his neck. A gasp as she began to run towards him. “Kaim! Kaim don’t!” Sirene cried out, tears falling from her face, but of course her words were for naught. She reached out to him just as his head came off. The life of Kaim, she didn’t want it to waste, so she decided then that the merge must happen.

A choked sob was the only noise she made as she let her body fuse with his. It hurt, everything hurt inside her, but she didn’t care. All she cared about was either proving Satan’s love to be true or false. She pushed forward into the foliage, stomping beyond it, Akira caught sight and attempted to fly away only to feel a bolt of lightning strike him, stunning him, before he was impaled. Blood spewed from his mouth as he was carried along, he spread his wings to escape, but by then the damage was done.

He felt his body fall on the bank of a creek. He coughed up blood and gore as the energy of the demon left him. Armless, wounded, dying from blood loss, he collapsed into the water. He watched as Sirene took her post on the cliffside overlooking him, smiling up into the sky. Why wasn’t she coming to kill him? Why wasn’t she going to get her revenge? He didn’t know… But she knew the triumphant look. She had won.

_ ‘Lord Satan… Look… We did it… We did it for you… Lord Satan, I hope you are smiling down upon us, knowing that… that I’ve always loved you...’ _

With that he life faded away from her. Her existence was extinguished like the flame of a candle in a gust of wind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sirene never reciprocates Kaim's feelings, but in the end she can appreciate him as a close friend. In the end they will spend eternity together as a family of sorts and while the love will never be reciprocated the love of close companions will always remain.


	44. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the fight with Sirene, Ryo and Akira find themselves needing to cover up the loss of one of Ryo's nannies from his childhood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter has depictions of self harm -- if you are not comfortable with that than skip a few paragraphs into the chapter.

“Ryo! What are you doing!?”

He whirled around to come face to face with Akira as he stood in the doorway, his expression harsh and filled with a stunned shock. Ryo hated that look, it was the look of disapproval… He hated seeing Akira look at him like that. The pain in his arms was a dull throbbing which penetrated just as deep as his grief, terrible memories were brought from the abyss with it. “You just got out of the hospital, oh my god.” His tone was aggressive, angry almost… If it wasn’t Akira than he wouldn’t have cared. The devilman took the older’s arms and held them in his hands, staring down upon them. 

The blood was pouring down his skin and dripping onto the white tile floor. “I… I’m so sorry, Akira.” The blond whispered softly, tears stinging his eyes and beginning to pool around his lashes. They began to stream down his cheeks in small rivers, soaking his face in tearful collections. He felt awful. How long was it since he last cut? How long since he created those scars on his arms now obscured by blood? He lost Sirene, someone who had practically raised him, and this was what he was doing with his pain? How pathetic could he really be… Truly a sore sight if Akira is looking at him like that.

He winced as the Devilman took a washcloth and began to run it over his forearms. It stung. It stung so horribly. A hiss of pain, but in the end he stood still, allowing for Akira to wipe all the blood away. When those chestnut colored eyes looked back up at him, he expected there to be a twisted anger in them. He expected to be struck in the side of his head, but that didn’t happen. What he saw instead was a tearful gaze filled with fear. A fear of loss was deep within them… “Promise me, Ryo.” The devilman began as he moved quickly to grab disinfectant and bandages from the cabinets.

“You have to promise me that you won’t ever do this again. You’re my best friend and I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you… I dug through so many dead bodies to save you from Sabbath, you know this… Please don’t throw your life away, I need you. Especially right now. You’re the only person who is helping me fight for what we set out to do.” Tears slipped from Akira’s eyes, but he fought through it with a smile. He didn’t want for Ryo to hurt anymore, he was obviously in so much pain.

“Please… Promise me Ryo.” Akira pressed further, gently rubbing disinfectant upon the wounds. “I… I promise Akira. I will try… Really really hard… Just don’t be mad anymore.” He said those final words in a quiet squeak, one that made the younger look up in shock. “I’m not mad at you, Ryo. I couldn’t be mad at you for something like this. You must… really be hurting if you decided to do such terrible things to yourself. I’m just upset is all. It’s not like it’s easy to accept the fact that your friend is willing to hurt themselves because of what they’re feeling.” He watched as Akira began to wrap his arm up, nice and slow, almost hypnotically.

How could he get so lucky to have a friend so tender and kind, so gentle with him. He watched as Akira continued to wrap up his arm, when he was finished, he moved to the other arm, making sure all the blood was cleaned off before beginning to disinfect. “You know, Ryo… I used to think you were so strong and powerful. I used to really look up to you.” Ryo’s heart sank as he expected the worst, he thought that it was going to become a tale of disappointment, how having Akira discover that he’s attempted suicide multiple times, or that he cuts, or that he will drink his problems away on occasions… He thought that this would become a tale about how disappointed he was.

“What happened?” Ryo asked, shakily. “I found out that I shouldn’t be idolizing you, or modeling my life after you… Instead I should be striving to catch up with you…”

Icy blues widened, growing ever more as the other continued. “Not only that but perhaps, just as I have a lot to learn from you, maybe I should help you get through this. I don’t want to lose you after all…” Ryo didn’t know what to say. What was he supposed to say to this? “Thank you, Akira… I don’t know how I could get through this without you helping me.” He ran his fingers of his left hand over the bandages upon his freshly bandaged right forearm. It stung, but the pain was numbing.

“Now, let’s get you all cleaned up. Sirene wouldn’t want you looking so upset, right?” Who would have guessed that the demon they faced off with a few days ago was the same woman who took care of Ryo throughout his childhood. Who would have guessed that things would have turned out this way. The blond nodded his head turning to look at himself in the mirror. Taking a makeup wipe from its package on the shelf, he began to wipe away his tears and the makeup stains that may have settled.

The stains retreated and soon enough no sign of his ever having cried remained. He needed to look nice and clean for Sirene… She was somewhere else, but he knew she was watching him. He needed her to see just how well he could still be doing. He remembered all that she wanted was his happiness… he needed to make sure she knew that he was happy. That he would be okay without her. 

The day was foul, it felt stagnant in its heat. Something was oppressive and sickening. He didn’t quite enjoy it. Sitting in the car, he leaned back in his seat, Akira beside him, and Jenny taking up the helm of driver. They would go to the funeral for the harpy… She tried what she could to make Satan happy, not knowing that she was only hurting him instead. Jenny remembered explicitly the conversation they had before she set out on her hunt for Devilman. A conversation about how Satan doesn’t make mistakes and how Sirene would soon know what she meant by that.

The engine started and the car began to move forward, down the driveway, and onto the road. They traveled on in silence. Akira took Ryo’s hand in his own, holding it tightly. The anxiety that was in their chests was just like Sabbath. They could feel each other’s pulses in the palms of their hands. The blond reached into his purse and withdrew tissues, a small packet of them. He handed it to the Devilman and smiled. He knew that he would cry when they arrived. That’s just how these things go.

He was right… Akira did cry, but not as much as he did. Standing in the rain with an umbrella held over him. He wept as the events unfolded. Sirene was family to him, never would he think that they’d end up on opposite sides. She had to have been loving of him until the end, for otherwise he would have been dead by now. There is no way he would have fallen like that and still survived without her intervening.

Akira’s fingers ghosted over his back as he held him close, watching as the coffin was lowered into the church’s yard. It was his mother’s request to have their hold family buried in this plot of land at a Japanese Catholic Church. She loved this church more than anything, it was her favorite place in the whole world. Watching Sirene’s casket being lowered beside their tombs he couldn’t help but feel his heart break.

Now all he had was Jenny and Akira, there was nobody else for him. He felt Jenny’s hand on his back alongside Akira’s as he buried his face into the Devilman’s chest. He listened to his heartbeat, a pleasant distraction from everything else going on. There weren’t many people at the funeral nor at the burial. That’s just how it was. She was nothing more than a servant in the eyes of many, but to Ryo and his mother she was family. When she left they were both devastated but Jenny explained that her departure was due to family emergencies. Judging by everything, Ryo assumed that was a lie somehow. He wondered if she left to protect him from something horrible… 

When Ryo asked Akira if he would go to church with him on their way home, he agreed reluctantly, asking softly if it was alright he invited the Makimuras, to which the blond agreed. These were times of grief so Akira truly believed that Ryo was seeking spirituality for a calming hand… Perhaps he too found comfort in God. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. The blond wanted to experience something that he knew his mother had so many times, something he couldn’t due to one bad reaction. He wanted to embrace something of the family that no longer exists.

The pew was crowded by them all, Ryo found Jenny to his left, Akira to his right, with every member of the Makimura family to the right of him, all dressed up neat and fancy. They had heard of the loss and gave their condolences, but in the end they never understood. “Don’t worry, son. God will help you find your way.” Kozo Makimura reassured him kindly, he felt terrible for the child, as would anyone. He’s lost so much over the years now, it was no secret, for Akira has spoken of it.

“Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. He said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The pastor’s preaching fell upon deaf ears as Ryo sat there, head bent, tears unhalting. Once more the comforting hold of Akira’s hand as they bowed their heads for prayer.

As they sat there memories flooded his mind, he sat there trembling throughout the sermon, unsure of what to say. His grief mounting like a brewing storm. How much longer will it last? He has yet to even get completely over his parent’s deaths. He longed for the bitter taste of alcohol, he craved the pain of a blade in his flesh, and he missed the presents of little orb shaped pills rattling around in his stomach. None of which he could ever fulfill, not here, not with all these ‘holy people’ around.

_ ‘Hush little baby, don't say a word, Sirene's gonna bring you a mockingbird. And if that mockingbird won't sing, Sirene's gonna find you a diamond ring. And if that diamond ring turns to brass, Sirene's gonna make you a looking glass. And if that looking glass gets broke, Sirene's gonna catch you a billy goat. And if that billy goat won't pull, Sirene's gonna steal you a cart and bull. And if that cart and bull turn over, Sirene's gonna buy you a dog named Rover. And if that dog named Rover won't bark, Sirene's gonna bring you a horse and cart. And if that horse and cart fall down, You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town!’ _

The tears came faster as he remembered those nights when she would hold him so close and she would rock back and forth with him. He remembered those nights when he would wake up from horrible nightmares but be too terrified to pull himself out of bed. He remembered her loving embrace as she soothed him. She promised him back then that she would always be keeping an eye out on him, that she wouldn’t let anything hurt him beyond repair… Was she lying? Or was she so sure that she wouldn’t hurt him so badly? Was he really going to come back from this? Would the grief ever subside, and if it does what will it leave behind?

_ ‘You are my sunshine, my only sunshine… You make me happy when skies are gray… You'll never know dear, how much I love you… Please don't take my sunshine away…’ _

Her voice was just as beautiful as her visage, a pretty bird song that echoed and could charm anyone. Words resonated through his mind even as he left the church, beautiful melody upon her tongue. If his heart was a physical object, he was sure the paint was flaking off and the pottery was cracking. He was certain that wear and tear, the storm for which it was transferred in, had taken its toll. Everyone was struggling to put it together with Elmer’s Glue and Scotch Tape but only so much could do the trick. As they rode in the car, her musical voice continued to play through his mind.

_ ‘Hush-a-bye, don’t you cry… Go to sleep, my little baby…’ _

The wine tasted sweeter in grief. He wondered if he could drown himself in it. Remembering her bitter bird song only put an edge on his lucidity. Like a knife right into his skull, he took a heavier swig to try and drown it all out.

_ ‘When you wake, you shall have… All the pretty little horses…’ _

What would Sirene think of him now, her little angel as she called him. A laugh escaped him as he stumbled about in a form of dance, disillusioned and isolated in the darkness of his bedroom.

_ ‘Dapples and grays, blacks and bays… All the pretty little horses…’ _

He moved to his window, pushing it open, he felt the wind brush against him as he stared up at the large moon. It was like an eye looking down upon him, he felt that twisted sickness of grief.

_ ‘Hush-a-bye, Don't you cry… Go to sleep little baby…’ _

Something, he swore he saw it, flew past him between the trees. Most likely just the drugs and alcohol, but he hoped he had seen a flicker of her soul continuing to press on in the sky, continuing to watch him.

_ ‘When you wake, you shall have… All the pretty little horses…’ _

Her form returned in the shape of a small blotch against the moon, he watched her flap her beautiful angelic wings, for a moment he thought he saw that head turn to look at him. He was certain he saw those blue eyes focus upon him.

_ ‘Dapples and grays, blacks and bays… All the pretty little horses…’ _

She was gone before he could truly do anything, dipping into the blooming clouds in the sky that wished to tear away just the little bit of hope he had. And yet she couldn’t be alive… Her body was destroyed along with her soul.

Silence fell upon him, the illusion of her song was gone. Once upon a time, his mother told him that ghosts were real and that often times a ghost of those you care about will try to give you a sign they are here with you. The sign came upon the wind. The fractured memory vanished and instead he felt the wind whisper it to him.

_ ‘Hush-a-bye… Don't you cry… Go to sleep, my little baby… When you wake, you shall have… All the pretty little horses… Dapples and grays, blacks and bays… All the pretty little horses… Hush-a-bye, Don't you cry… Go to sleep little baby… When you wake, you shall have… All the pretty little horses… Dapples and grays, blacks and bays… All the pretty little horses…’ _

A smile fell upon his face as the grief of his heart was lifted… She wasn’t dead, no… she was just closing a chapter of her life. She would come back to him some day, he just had to be patient.

No goodbye is permanent, not even the goodbye that death brings, for death is simply the end of an old chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs used through this chapter are either in the public domain or common nursery rhymes/lullabies. The songs that were used are 'You Are My Sunshine', 'Hush Little Baby', and 'All the Pretty Little Horses' (Also known as 'Hush a-by').


	45. Shell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Akira's fight with Jinmen, he seeks comfort in Ryo for the grief he is feeling about his parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided not to go into detail about the Jinmen fight, such a battle has been overdone so I figured I'd just leave it out and have it explained in a mild description from Akira. There is no need to put a fight like that in there because, after all, this story isn't about the physical conflicts but the emotional and spiritual ones.

Akira felt tears sting his eyes as he stared down upon the fragmented shell. His mother’s dead face upon it, contorted into an expression of agony… How does one ever get over something like that? He loved his parents, they were always there for him. They were always cheering him on and now… Now they were gone. A demon had taken them from him… Without anyone to guide him and without anyone to coddle him, he had no clue where he should go. Days of early morning breakfasts, good night kisses, ‘I love you’s, and farewell embraces have met their end all due to a disgusting turtle.

The rain outside was suffocating, the wind blistering, the pain was mind numbing.  _ ‘I’m sorry, Akira…’  _ Amon tried to tell him, but all he got was a surge of rage. The only thought he felt was Akira exclaiming for him to shut up, for he was a demon, as such he was just as bad. He didn’t take it to heart… Jinmen was a wretched type, enough to make anyone believe what the angels did. He couldn’t pin it upon the child, he is only working to cope with the fresh gash in his life.

A sharp knocking upon the front door of Asuka Manor resulted in Jenny coming quickly, her bed clothes clinging to her form for she too was getting ready to head to her quarters for the night. “Mister Fudo!” Her expression told it all, she wasn’t expecting him and was shocked to see the devilman standing there, soaked to the bone and shivering. “Come in, come in, get out of the rain. Young Master is upstairs in his room… I can walk you--” She was cut off as Akira held up his hand to silence her. She didn’t say another word as she watched him walk up the steps and disappear into the upper floor. How odd it was, to watch him look so hollow and upset. She cast her gaze to the floor, shocked and taken aback to see that he was leaving a trail of blood behind him.

Ryo jumped as his door burst open, his hand instinctively grabbing a shawl to wrap over his bare shoulders as he whirled around. If Akira was more lucid when he came inside the room, he would have seen everything. The cleavage that Ryo desperately tried to hide, the burn scars that start at his left knee and snakes up to his left breast, so on and so forth. Out of all the things that he expected to see within the night, the Devilman was not one of them, so was it really a surprise that Akira would come in while the older was in his elegant night clothes, such a wardrobe of which consisted of feminne lingerie. 

Akira stumbled in, limping, before collapsing into the blond’s arms. “A-Akira!?” He exclaimed in shock. He felt something warm beneath his hands and immediately panic exploded within him. “What!? A-Are you bleeding!?” He didn’t care that the other was hurting his cracked ribs, or that he was straining his broken leg and wrist, all that mattered was the fact that Akira wasn’t in one piece… He was gushing blood and it began to stain the white camisole he wore.

“Sit down right now, Akira.” He guided the other to sit on the bed, concern in his eyes. “P-Please remove your shirt.” Once more the other listened with a blank expression on his face, peeling off his clothes. The marks beneath were terrifying, but he wasn’t surprised about that. Deep claw marks and burns, gashes and sores. Ryo winced and leaned forward, beginning to clean out the injuries. He hated it, he hated every bit of this… But in the end there was nothing that he could do to stop them from happening. A guilt lingered in his heart as he thought about all the pain he was putting Akira through.

“My parents are dead…” Ryo’s head shot up as he finished cleaning off his body with a wet washcloth. “What?” Did he just hear what he thought he heard. “My parents are dead, Ryo!” Akira exclaimed, making the blond jump. He was paralyzed, still now. He didn’t know what to say… What was he supposed to say about that? 

He knew what he wanted to hear when he lost his parents, but they are different people and they had different relationships with the adults in their lives. How Akira felt about his parents is much different from how he felt about his own. For a while he was silent as he wrapped the wounds. Nothing was said, no words were exchanged, for a half hour they just sat quietly as the rain tapped upon the window outside.

When Ryo had finally finished his job, he moved up onto the bed and sat next to Akira, folding his legs up beneath him. Reaching his dainty hands up, he took the younger’s head into his arms and lowered it to rest against his chest. He held him there for a while, running his fingers over his back and through his hair. He attempted to soothe him in the only way he knew how… Through an embrace.

He wasn’t the sympathetic type, he lacked the majority of empathy that most people have. But when it came to Akira he couldn’t help but try his hardest to bring a smile to his face. When those tears began, he just allowed for the younger to vent them all out. He didn’t say a word, just held him there. The slight concern that the devilman would notice his larger chest or his feminine physique ran through his head… It was something that he thought if, perhaps, he recognized than he’d remember what happened at Sabbath.

The sexual encounter that occurred due to too many drugs, hidden due to the sheer deception that his body was. He remembered feeling the other kiss and suck upon his neck, he remembered the marks and welts he left behind when he did. He remembered feeling him unbutton his corset before slipping up his shirt revealing that he was wearing a loose binder that day. Fingers dancing beneath his waistband, intruding between his legs. He wanted it, craved it, but the two of them were so high and drunk that he wondered if Akira would grow hateful if he heard about what happened that night. He couldn’t let him remember it, his body was an easy way for him to do such a thing.

When the other finally began to rant on and on, Ryo didn’t say anything. This was healthy and needed for him. He needed to get these emotions off of his chest. All the same however, he wondered just how much he would be saying. As he went on and on, Ryo simply just comforted him how he knew he could. Rubbing his back, running his fingers through his hair, just like he was a child.

“It was a demon, Ryo. A demon named Jinmen. He was a disgusting turtle. The night started when I was sitting in my room, my parents were supposed to come back a week ago. I was thinking about you and how you were healing, just to get my mind off of everything, but my phone kept ringing. I got angrier and angrier, eventually I picked up in a rage and then I heard my mother. She was screaming in pain, begging me to come find her, she was being tortured in the abandoned train tunnels. Amon told me not to go, but I knew I had to, I had to see what happened to them. When I got down there, he was standing there. He had this shell, it had so many faces on it, it was a death mask. It would have been one thing if the faces were still, but they weren’t. They moved… They were alive. They still had their souls in them! Ryo, my mother was on that monster’s shell! She was alive and screaming at me to kill her and to end her pain!”

Ryo’s eyes widened as he continued with his story, about how he fought Jinmen. He explained where every wound of his came from. The extending claws, the burning and boiling water, the stones which fell upon him, the pointed top of his shell… It was all so grotesque and yet fascinating. “He said that he was exempt from what he had done because… Because he didn’t kill what he ate. The killing is what’s wrong but I… That’s not true, is it Ryo!?” He knew the answer Akira wanted to hear, but honestly he was torn. Both sides had their argument and it seemed if those faces had no suffering to them upon that shell than most likely Jinmen would have been right.

“No, it’s not true… You’re right Akira, it’s not true. What happened was wrong, that’s not right at all. Your parents didn’t deserve that. They didn’t deserve that at all… I’m so sorry…” He soothed in the softest voice he could muster, continuing to embrace him in his arms, rocking back and forth… back and forth… He just wanted to see that light in his eyes again, just a little flicker of it.

After a while, Akira finally managed to pull himself together and pulled away from Ryo, to which he quickly wrapped the robe around him tighter, hiding his breasts as best he could. The blond reached over, brushing away the tears on the younger’s face, gently pushing them away so he no longer was crying. He hated seeing him hurt… It wasn’t fair. “There you go… No more tears. It’ll be okay. I’m here for you.”

He knew that it was very little consolation for him, but all the same he wanted him to know. It wasn’t fair that he has to go through all of this. Akira was supposed to be the happy one out of the two of them, the one that out of the two of them wouldn’t want to hang himself or jump off the building. He was the one that was supposed to be able to go home and tell his mom and dad how much he loves them until they passed due to natural causes, hopefully in their sleep… He was the one that was supposed to run track and break records, find a wonderful person who could love him, have a family and kids… All Ryo wanted was to see him happy and now it seemed so far away.

He wished he could be that person to give Akira happiness… But a worry struck up in his heart that perhaps he was doing the opposite of what he set out to do. Instead he was drowning him, dragging him below the surface of the ocean, drowning him alongside of him. This concern couldn’t ever see the light of day, however, he needed Akira to be happy. It’s not fair that he is hurting. It’s not fair that the pain is continuing to swell up more and more in his half human heart.

“Ryo?” Akira began, his eyes avoiding eye contact as though he was nervous about something. “Can I ask you for a favor?” Ryo perked up, tilting his head slightly to the side. “What is it?” The blond returned softly. “Can I stay here for the night?” He looked over to the clock, three in the morning. He’d have to cancel all his activities, all of his meetings… He wasn’t much of a morning person anyways and as such it’s better that they are rescheduled for some later date in the evening.

“Of course Akira… You can stay here for as long as you’d like…” He meant it, truly he did. He wanted him to be able to feel as though he never had to leave. “Is it alright if I sleep in here with you… I don’t… I don’t want to be alone right now.” That was the question that caught him off guard, the request he would have never expected, but all the same he would do anything for the devilman, regardless of what it is.

Getting up off the bed, Ryo made his way around his room. He closed the blinds, sealing the room away from the world. Then he went to his private bathroom connected to his bedroom and cracked the door open slightly, reaching in and flicking on a little fragrance wallflower which doubled as a sort of night light, casting a soft glow throughout the room as the scent of strawberries fluttered through the room. After that he proceeded to his bedroom door and turned the door lock before flicking off the lights. It revealed a spinning lamp on his desk was on, a faint glow coming from it.

It cast moving star lights onto the ceiling above, a gentle reassurance in trying times. Ryo always left it on at night, turning it off in the day to save the bulb. Overall, however, that lamp remained on, the stars spinning on and on above them. He settled back down on the bed before grabbing hold of the fluffy comforters. Pulling them around Akira, he began to guide him to lie down in the bed. The answer was, obviously, yes. He would never turn the devilman away like that.

Like a child Akira greedily took up the presence of the other, pulling him close like a stuffed animal, letting his head settle upon his shoulder as he listened to the gentle pulse of Ryo’s heart. Just like when they were children. Whenever Akira would have a nightmare, Ryo would lay on his back, he remembered this. Then he would allow for the younger to settle his head upon his chest or shoulder so he could listen to his steady heartbeat. Now was no different… Now was just like then.

Ryo continued to let his fingers run through his hair, detangling them all the while. “Akira… I’m so proud of you.” He finally said. “Why?” Akira answered, confusion in his voice. “Because, you are doing something I could never do. You are fighting for everyone… I’m proud of you because despite everything you remain strong… I wish I could be as strong as you are…” There was silence for a while and for a moment, the blond believed that perhaps the other had fallen asleep… But that wasn’t the case.

“Ryo, you’re stronger than I could ever be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ryo reveals in this chapter that he'd do anything for Akira, this is true in every regard. If Akira asked him to do something, he would do it without question, mostly because he doesn't want to risk loosing the only person he's ever loved.


	46. Parasite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miko and Miki are in school when a terrible attack occurs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Miko has a similar relationship with Miki that Ryo has with Akira. In fact later on one could say they see themselves in each other. While their personalities are different they are still very similar in their relationships.

Miko fidgeted with her pencil on her desk. Something was bothering her, she wasn’t sure what it was, but she felt a sort of static in her heart. Her eyes flicked over to Miki as she typed away on her phone. They shared the same name, ran on the same track team, and yet she was the one everyone looked to. It was her that got all the praise and it was her that everyone wanted to climb into bed with. Truly it wasn’t fair at all. Why couldn’t she get recognition? Not only that, but why can’t she just hate the girl that stole her own name away from her? Why couldn’t she say that she hated Miki Makimura?

_ ‘Because you don’t hate her, you dumb bitch. You have to admit it. You watch her as she runs along that track. You watch her short hair bounce along, you scan her body as her muscles tense and relax, you envy her figure and lust after it. Admit it, there’s something about her that you find alluring in every way.’ _

Miko bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, the iron taste and sharp pain awakening her to the day ahead. The voice in her mind was right, she didn’t hate Miki. Why? Because she wanted to love her. There was a part of her that wanted to have Miki all to herself. When she saw her talking with Akira she got jealous and hateful. She didn’t want to see her spending her time with him… It wasn’t fair like that.

She didn’t know about Ryo and his undying love for Akira, how he was in a very similar mind set to her… But if she did it’d be no doubt that she would grow to be in league with him. Plan to try and separate the two ‘love birds’ doomed to fail. They’d be much better lovers, that’s what the two of them believed… But no chance meeting would have ever occured. No interaction, not for a long time. As such, while Miko watched her crush from across the room she had nothing she could do.

She remembered the days when her and Miki would stay up late at night, just hanging out at slumber parties. Those were the days she was actually happy. Those were the days where things made sense. Now the world felt so confusing, a puzzle she couldn’t even hope to crack. A sigh escaped her lips as she settled her face into her hands. For a while her mind was lost within the music of her headphones, brain wandering as she thought about Miki and the morality of her love. Was it even right for two girls to love each other? Was it okay that she does something like that? Was it fair?

A scream caught her attention as her mind snapped to attention. She yanked one of her headphones out as she looked up at what was going on. A girl had stumbled into the room screaming. A spider was upon her head. “Oh God!” Miko shouted, standing up so quickly that her chair fell behind her. She watched as the spider dug it’s hairy legs deep into the girl’s skull, ripping it open and spilling the pink organ all over the floor. Blood oozed from the crator that was created and now perched upon her shoulders.

The spider began to nestle in the head, one that was lacking everything above the nose now, and soon enough the body that was once lying limp on the floor began to move once again. They were like a zombie, moaning and groaning, causing everyone to jump up and run as quickly as they could. Panic filled Miko as she stood paralyzed. She wasn’t brave, she wasn’t powerful, she was everything Akira once was and now was not. It wasn’t until she felt a hand grab her own that she awoke from her stupor.

That hand pulled her, she followed along, shocked to find that it was Miki whom had gotten to her. “Hurry, we have to get out of here!” She shouted as she pulled her along. This had to be a dream, a strange dream crossed with a nightmare, running away from a monster with the girl that she could confidently say she loved in secret. This had to be some sort of prank or something… But then again why would anyone play something like this on her?

“Wh-Where’s Akira?” Miko asked as they ran, curious now. For some reason she had a thought in her head that Akira was someone that could take on these sorts of things. She didn’t know about Devilman, nobody really did, and yet something inside of her told her that perhaps, maybe, he could save them. “He stayed at home today… Grief.” Miki answered rather matter-of-factly. Silence fell between them as they made their way out into the courtyard, bodies shambling after them.

They watched as the victim count grew, heads after heads being ripped into. Tiny spiders bounded after them, attempting to snatch onto their skulls, no doubt, but of course they couldn’t allow for that. There was still so much to live for at this point. And yet all the same if they run and leave them than what’s going to happen to everyone else. This cannot be just a one-off thing, it’s just too terrifying. A zombie outbreak.

When they emerged from the school building, they believed themselves to be safe… Yet what they saw proved them wrong beyond belief. Miki let out a gasp as she began to back away, the crowd had grown so massive now. A giant web had expanded like a dome over the sky and was dropping these many small spiders upon the ground, generating figure after figure, all of which joined the masses.

They encroached, slowly and steadily, a gentle march that stamped on. Of course they would cornered like this? Why wouldn’t they. Tears began to clutter Miki’s eyes, this was the end… She was going to die without a chance at life. It was the choked sobs of the girl she tried so hard to hate that finally made her take a risk. She needed to clear those tears away… She needed to protect her once best friend… Running into the crowd, she unleashed a punch into one of the individuals.

The spiders scattered and broke apart, disappearing into the masses, she figured they would just add to another individual. 

She wondered if they needed more express guidance to form something as complex as a human. The answer was a most likely as she unleashed another punch into the crowd, essentially disbanding another handful of spiders who did the same thing. The spiders grabbed and swiped at her, claw after claw. She jumped and ducked as best she could, only taking a few hits all the while. She believed it was all going so well… until that scream came back once again.

She whirled around, shock on her face, eyes widening as she saw what was unfolding. They had grabbed ahold of Miki. They had her in their grasp. “Miki!” She shrieked, beginning to run as hard as she could back. Something gripped her arm, yanking her into the fray once more. She felt spiders beginning to swarm up her body. Up her skirt, under her shirt, into her socks, panties, hair, bra… They squirmed into every opening, not even stopped at her eyes.

Miko let out cries of agony as she felt them scuttle deep into her body. She had to do something! Something anything! She had to change! “Miki!” Her voice was a guttural roar, one that exhibited all of her power. Was it a surprise than that the demon decided that perhaps this girl would help him with his ever growing power? Merge… That’s what he decided to do, he decided to merge with her.

The demon web, Rasber, allowed for his body to break apart, little fragments floating to the ground before squirming their way over the writhing, dying human. Soon the web reached her and began to cacoon her. Miki watched in horror as she struggled away from the spiders. The terror she felt was unrivaled. What could this beast possibly be doing to her best friend!? Were they going to devour her!?

The tendrils wrapped over Miko’s form and soon enough the girl fell still. Alarm bells went off in Miki’s head -- was she dead?

The cocoon hardened, a shell which embraced the girl. The spiders fell still, watching as their orders halted, waiting for some new instructions. Cracks began to form on the protective casing for which the body was housed. A part broke open as a hand shot out, this hand proceeding to pull the body out with it. Miki recognized the girl within, but not fully. Her face was the same but her body… it was different. It reminded her of the change that Akira went through… 

The spiders began to shriek as a new voice came to them. They retreated, bodies dropping like flies all around Miki. They fled from the scene, creating as much distance as they could, before their bodies exploded into a mess of yellow. Miko approached the girl before her, hand taking up her face, eyes making contact. They stood in startled silence for a while before Miki felt exhaustion overtaking her. 

When she awoke, there were sirens everywhere, she was covered in blood but relatively unharmed. Police helped her up and began to ask her questions. “Ma'am, where is the shooter? What happened?” Shooter? Yes… there was a school shooter wasn’t there? There was someone armed with a gun who came in, she escaped to the courtyard and then collapsed from exhaustion. She remembered now… 

Yet Miki felt that she was forgetting something. There was something wrong. Where was Miko? She was here when she collapsed, they ran out of the building together. And yet she was nowhere to be seen. As Miki was escorted to an ambulance to get checked for injuries, she questioned everything that happened.

Something wasn’t right here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Miko made everyone believe, with the ability of the demon she merged with, that there was a school shooter not a demon on the loose. This explains the injuries of the dead, how their heads were blown open but the rest of their bodies were unmarred.


	47. Predator

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira and Ryo meet in a cafe to discuss the demon attack that occurred at the school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! SkeletalKitsune here! Just a heads up, I was recently diagnosed with a severe sinus infection and if any of you know what sickness does to a person, it really makes it hard for them to keep focus. As such the next couple chapters may be a bit messy. I apologize for that. Although I will say considering the part of the arc that we are getting to, it's kind of ironic that I'm getting sick now.

“So you’re telling me that there are more devilmen? More people like me?” Ryo nodded as he popped a cough drop into his mouth, slipping it under his tongue hoping to relieve the nagging itch at the back of his throat. “How do you know this?” Akira asked, picking the cough drop wrapper up and including it in the used napkin pile beside him. The cafe was relatively quiet, a quaint place that was chosen for them.

He remembered when Ryo invited him out for breakfast, saying that he had to talk to him about something. Here is where they came. Akira had ordered Tamago Kake Gohan, he didn’t want anything super fancy, whereas Ryo ordered something from his home country -- pancakes with a side of bacon. The devilman was even more surprised to see that he also ordered a glass of orange juice to go with it. ‘Without pulp, please.’ He remembered him saying… Now the plate was empty with a thin veil of maple syrup and just a bit of butter still remaining. The glass of orange juice sat half full, or as Ryo described it ‘half empty’. He never understood that pessimistic attitude.

“Yesterday there was an incident at your school -- you heard about it, right?” Ryo asked, the cough drop still underneath his tongue. “Yes, the school shooting… School was cancelled for the rest of the week. I feel awful about it, but I’m glad I wasn’t there. Miki must have been horrified.” He looked up at the blond, only to find that he wasn’t sporting the happiest expression. As of late he’s been noticing that Ryo doesn’t seem to like Miki at all, any mention of the girl seemed to put him off in some way. “Yeah… She must have been… But it wasn’t a school shooting.”

Akira furrowed his brow, that wasn’t right. “What do you mean ‘wasn’t a school shooting’? Of course it was.”

Ryo sighed before reaching into his bag, which he set in the seat next to him. He began to rifle through it, soon being spurred into a coughing fit. Akira noticed that too… He must be coming down with a cold or something. He’s beginning to look worse and worse by the day. Soon enough the blond produced a document, setting it upon the table. Akira stared at it for a moment before Ryo gestured for him to thumb through it.

He began to do just that, flipping through the pages one by one. Pictures, photos taken by someone outside of the fence. Dozens of pictures that showed Miko being attacked by the spiders, so many spiders, then being taken by the beast overhead. The spider web which stretched out over the school, Amon quickly identified them as the demon Rasber. At the end he was stunned into silence to see that Miko had merged with the demon above her, creating someone completely different… a beast.

Akira cast his gaze back up to Ryo, not even noticing as he was chewing up the remainder of the cough drop in his mouth with a glassy crunch sound, almost as though it were some hard candy. “Miko… The third best runner on our track team… She’s a devilman?” The blond nodded his head, taking a sip from his orange juice, washing the rest of it down, before coughing faintly. “But she doesn’t know anything about demons, how could she possibly win out against them?” Akira inquired, only to get a shrug in return. “Perhaps her will to live was just that strong… I’m not quite sure about it, all that I know is that we have another one.”

There was silence as Akira closed the folder again, handing it back to his best friend who slipped it back into his bag. The sounds of clinking silverware and chopsticks, the gentle chitter chatter of people, it made him feel as though everyone was listening in. His mind was snapped to attention when he heard Ryo request the check. He made the payment, then left with Akira in tow.

As soon as they got outside, the cool of the coming winter brushing up against them, Akira watched as Ryo lit his cigarette. “Those are so bad for you, Ruu.” He told him, but got no response as the blond took a drag and puffed out a thick cloud. He didn’t smoke often, but when he did it showed that he was obviously stressed. “Akira… Have you ever thought that perhaps we are fighting for the wrong side?”

Confusion. “What?” He didn’t mean for himself to come off to aggressive, in fact Akira recoiled just a bit when he heard what Ryo began to say. He didn’t want to be so cruel to him, but all the same if he was going to change sides to side with the monsters than he wasn’t going to have any part of him. He didn’t want to be friends with someone that would let the demons kill humans despite all they’ve done.

“Before you get all angry and frustrated, think about it. Think about what this world is… It’s falling apart, it’s dying, humanity is killing it. Humanity is killing themselves. They are causing global climate change, sea temperatures are rising, seasons are getting more extreme… Have you not noticed it? Don’t you ever find it strange how the summers we’ve experienced over the years have gotten hotter and hotter? Don’t you ever find it strange how the winters we’ve experienced have only gotten colder and colder? ‘Record breaking storms’ keep happening, and natural disasters are becoming more and more plentiful. Same with pollution and waste.” He took another drag of his cigarette, puffing out the smoke again, before falling into a faint coughing fit.

“Think about it… Everything has a predator. A natural predator that frequently eats it. The grass has a caterpillar. The caterpillar has a bird. The bird has a fox. The fox has a dog. So on so forth, eventually until it feeds the human appetite. But what eats humans? Nothing does… It leads to a horrendous imbalance among nature. There needs to be something that will eat man regularly in order to control the population.”

“As of July of this year, the world has reached 7.4 billion people and is expected to only grow. The population is showing mostly exponential growth and will continue to grow larger and larger despite the fact that resources are becoming scarcer and scarcer. Soon enough there will not be enough clean water for anyone if we want to make sure that the most people survive. There will not be enough food or space or even time for everyone the face of this Earth. Humans will continue to destroy ecosystems and will proceed to wipe out all other life but those which we continue to grow for the sake of our own appetite. You remember the Amazon rain forest where I came from, Akira?”

Akira nodded quietly, not wanting to interrupt the spiel for which his friend was going on despite how angry he was getting over the whole thing. “The tribe I was raised by, they taught me to respect nature. They taught me that humans are just living on borrowed land and one day the Earth will grow tired of them. They taught me as a young child that while you can take what’s given to you, you shouldn’t take more than what mother nature set aside for you. If you do than it’s like taking a huge risk. Perhaps the demons are Earth’s way of telling us it’s time to stop… Of limiting our population before war strikes it and begins to ravage us in every way… Soon humans will begin to kill each other, they will start an apocalypse and while some of it will be the fault of nature, most of it will be human selfishness… A true massacre of the billions.”

Akira was stunned into silence, how could he think so pessimistically? It didn’t make sense. “There’s no way that humans will let that happen! Humans are good! Humanity is good! They won’t kill each other over something like that? We will find another alternative because we’ve always have.” Ryo frowned at the other’s blind optimism. He took a long puff on his cigarette, essentially lowering it to be just the butt before flicking it onto the ashtray atop a trash can, smothering the embers before continuing.

“Humans aren’t kind Akira… They aren’t kind at all… They are terrible, awful creatures. I know from experience. Every human but you has been cold to me and it seems only the demons have shown me kindness. Those tribal people I discovered were hunted because of their worship of demons, the government believed they were sending monsters to go kill the nearby villagers. Humans blamed humans for the actions of creatures that weren’t necessarily in our control, but protected us nonetheless. Protected us from poisonous beasts and from monsters that are known in biology textbooks.”

“Not only that but have you seen the cruelty they’ve shown me specifically? Was it not a human man that assaulted me and sexually abused me? Was it not a group of men that did the same thing and then proceeded to spread naked photos of me being raped around the school? Was it not humanity that ignored the bruises that bloomed on my body? Was it not humanity that ignored me when I slit my wrists and tried to kill myself? Tell me Akira, I cried out for help for so long and was ignored by my fellow man, but do you want to know who did come to my aid? Demons… Demons like Sirene. She didn’t even kill me when I shot at her, she saved me, proving that she was the same woman that raised me. Mankind is cruel to even their own, and to the world that they live on, but the demons have taken me in and cared for me more than any human ever has.”

Akira was still… Ryo was right but at the same time, he couldn’t let the demons truly win out. He couldn’t side with them. “If that’s the case, then what am I fighting for? Why did I transform into Devilman, why did I merge with the demon Amon? I became this to stop the demons from hurting humans, to defend humanity. Why did you bring me to Sabbath if you truly never sided with humans to begin with?” It didn’t make sense, if Ryo hated humanity so much than why did he want to protect them in the beginning, and what was he supposed to do now that he disclosed his true intentions.

“Do you want the honest answer or the answer you want to hear?” Ryo asked, Akira simply nodded, a way to convey that he wanted both. The blond let out a sigh which once more triggered a coughing fit. “Fine… The answer you want to hear is that I originally wanted to protect humans but after seeing Sirene I found that perhaps demons aren’t so bad. They charmed me into believing them and so I’m under their manipulated control. That’s the answer I know you want to hear. It gives me some form of redemption, a chance to perhaps turn away from my pessimism and show myself to be a good person… Honestly though, that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m not a good person, I’m an awful monster. A mess of a human being. If you want the honest answer it is that I don’t know why I let you merge with Amon. I don’t know why I brought you into this mess… Somehow, something inside of me was telling me to do it. No redemption, no sign of good, just an unstoppable urge to bring you into this war…”

Akira stood in silence for a while, unsure of what to say. The wind brushed past them as they made eye contact. The roads of the town were empty on a morning such as this. Everyone was at work, everyone was at school, nobody was outside for the early morning had released its cold breath upon them. “You don’t… know why you had me merge?” he asked finally, watching as the other’s once harsh face dropped. There was sorrow there as he shook his head. It was the truth, he didn’t know.

“I’m not a saint, Akira… I truly am not. This cross I wear around my neck is simply the only memory I have of my mother. It’s not symbolic of who I am… I’ve always been this way. I’ve never loved people, in fact I’ve always thought that if the world ended I’d be happy… But all the same I don’t want it to because you’re in this world. That pain… You don’t deserve it.” Akira was somewhat disgusted and touched all at once, a juxtaposition of emotions as Ryo kept talking.

“I suppose it’s a good thing I did cause you to merge though, because now even if I die in the demon’s victory, because I know they will win at this point for two people cannot defend against them, than you can live onward within them. Within their ranks. Because now you too are a demon. Humanity will never accept you as you are, but the demons… They may just if you side with them.” Akira’s brow furrowed and he took Ryo roughly by the shoulders shaking him aggressively. “What the hell are you talking about, Ryo!? What’s the point of living if nobody else is with you!? What’s the point of living if you’re all by yourself!?” Akira exclaimed aggressively, only stopping when he saw the concern and fear on his best friend’s face. A fear that he knew so many people had seen. He released him and withdrew, eyes traveling down to his wrist to see the faint edge of bandages which covered freshly created cuts.

A guilt came over him… He was afraid that perhaps he was just another example of the people that Ryo was talking about. And yet all the same with all he was saying, he wanted more than anything to shut him up however he could. Even if it meant triggering his mind to start reeling. “I… I’m sorry… Just forget it…” There he went, retreating into his shell. He came out of it, showing Akira a part of him that was somewhat sensitive, a true opinion, only to retreat as though he had been hit. In a way, Akira supposed Ryo had been. He had been rejected in every way, conflict rose within him.

Ryo was wrong, Akira knew he was wrong, and yet all the same he couldn’t provide a better argument outside of violence and saying that ‘humans were too nice’. But all the same he did make good points. The Earth is dying, the research is there… But just because there were some humans that were awful does not mean they deserved mass extinction. It didn’t mean that they would go to war if the resources ran out. It didn’t mean that everything would fall apart… would it?

No… it couldn’t mean that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ryo is a very intelligent person, as well as a suspicious person. How he got information about the demon attacks on the school is a mystery, but he still managed to in some way. It most likely has something to do with Jenny. He is not happy with the fact that there is now another devilman out and about. Also added note, this scene takes place in late September of 2016.


	48. Sickness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryo falls ill to a mysterious illness, something that is rather foreboding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angels, even when disguised as humans, will still have key features to tell them apart. For one thing, their blood does not fit neatly into any other blood type. Another thing that will happen is despite them being exposed to diseases they will not get infected, the reason for this is because Angel diseases are not the same as human diseases and as such an angel can only get sick by the diseases of their own species -- these diseases are almost all as lethal as many lower respiratory infections.

“Jenny, let me in, I’m here to see Ryo. He hasn’t answered any of my texts, and I’m worried about him.” Akira demanded. “The young master is sick, and considering your fight from the other day I don’t think he wants any more of your false care.” Jenny hissed in response, eyes showing nothing but a burning hatred. “Look, I don’t care. I want to see him and make sure he’s okay, just let me through!” The two continued to fight in the doorway, not noticing the figure slowly descending the steps. 

“Jenny!?” A weak voice called out, scratchy and stuffy, curiosity lacing it. “Who’s at the door!?” She whirled around to see Ryo standing there, he looked awful. His hair was a mess, a thick robe was over his camisole, hiding all of his body for the most part from outside eyes. Slippers were on his feet, they were bunny slippers that matched his pure white outfit. His eyes were red and puffy, his nose just as much, the bags under his eyes showed just how exhausted he was.

“I-It’s nobody young master, please go back upstairs. I’ll bring you some soup and a new trash bag in a little bit… I know you threw up earlier.” Jenny explained. “There was no vomit, I was only dry heaving.” He corrected. “Nothing a few saltines can’t fix.” He peered around Jenny, blue eyes trying to deduce who was standing there. When he saw Akira, his face paled and he took a step back. Concern filled his eyes and he shook his head. “A-Akira… What are you doing here?”

There was a terror in his heart surrounding his best friend. He didn’t want him to be here for the solitary reason that he was worried about the consequences of something like that. He didn’t want Akira to be here if it was just going to be a fight… He didn’t want to mess up more than he believed he did.

“You haven’t been responding to me at all Ryo… I got worried.” Akira simply answered, pushing past Jenny to get inside. Now standing in the foyer, he heard the door close behind him, shutting the house off from the harsh sunlight and cool winds. “After our fight I didn’t want to upset you more so yeah… I didn’t respond. I wanted to give you some space. It’s not like your texts were really easy to respond to anyways.” He wouldn’t admit that he didn’t respond because he was terrified.

“I don’t need much space. Sure we fought, but like… That shouldn’t be putting a strain on our friendship. I really shouldn’t be surprised that you don’t agree with me on people. I mean, you’ve been through a lot more than I have. It was wrong of me to get so aggressive with you.” Akira told him, smiling, only to be greeted by the blond casting his gaze downwards. “No… No Akira… I should have been more conscious of your feelings, but I’ve never been good with stuff like that. I should have kept my opinion to myself, you are the one fighting, not me.”

He jumped as the other suddenly got close to him. “Ryo, you’re fighting just as much as I am. You’ve been to the hospital twice now all because of demons. And while your broken bones are fixed, I know that the scars are still there.” He took his one hand, tracing along where there once were stitches on the back of his hand. “See… like that. You’re fighting too, Ruu.” There was that nickname again. It led to the blond’s heart pounding in his chest. Why was he so in love with Akira dammit… 

“Now I know you’re probably still upset but let me make it up to you with how I must have scared you. Would you let me hang out for the day and make you feel better. I can tell you’re probably feeling pretty awful right now.” Akira was right, he was feeling terrible, but all the same he didn’t want to ask that of him. “I don’t know Akira… Don’t you want to keep helping Miki get over everything that happened with the demon attack?”

He felt the grip of the other tighten around his hands. “I couldn’t care less right now. Miki has Miko, they’re hanging out right now and as far as I’m concerned they’re doing just fine. What I care about is you being sick. You’re my best friend, you’ve taken care of me so much up until now, it’s my turn to return the favor.” Ryo didn’t know what to say, he was stunned into silence as he stared at the devilman, before a faint smile spread across his face… He was so lucky.

“Here you are, young master. Chicken noodle soup, saltines, peanut butter toast, ginger ale, and orange juice. This should all make you feel much better.” Jenny spoke as she placed the food on a bed table which was hovering over top of the younger’s lap. “Thank you Jenny…” Ryo spoke as he watched her place down tissues as well. She peered inside the trashcan next to the bed and sighed in relief seeing that he had yet to throw up into it. After that she departed with a faint smile, closing the door behind her.

“So what are you sick with, exactly?” Akira asked from where he sat beside the bed. He watched as Ryo leaned forward, taking a spoonful of soup and blowing on it faintly before eating it. There was a relaxed expression which washed over his face for a moment, but it vanished just as quick. “We’re not sure. We had my doctor come over, he’s one of the best in the country, and he said that it seemed like it was some form of infection but he’s not sure of which kind. Because of an anomaly with my blood we can’t take any blood tests, he’s at a loss for what to diagnose me with and therefore what medicines to put me on.” Ryo explained quietly, shaking his head at the thought.

“Well what kind of symptoms have you been dealing with?” Akira inquired as Ryo ate another spoonful of his soup. There was concern on his features, his parents were doctors and they once told him there is always a diagnosis unless it’s a new illness… He hoped Ryo wasn’t coming down with a unique disease.

“Well for starters fever, coughing, runny nose, inflammation in my cheeks, neck, nose, ears, and head, headaches, nausea, and body pains… But that’s not even the half of it. There’s also been a loss of appetite, lethargy, lengthy periods of sleep, but the most concerning symptom is that I have had blood in my vomit and stool… The doctor is concerned that this could be signs of internal bleeding.” Ryo watched as Akira’s expression morphed more and more into a look of pure concern. He couldn’t blame him. Especially considering everything.

“Ruu! Why did you tell me sooner!?” He shouted, making the blond jump, nearly dropping his saltine. “Simple, what was I supposed to tell you? Hey I’m dying from an unknown disease, I don’t know how bad it’s going to get? There’s nothing you can do to fix it, I’m sorry that I may become just in bad of a state as our parents? Is that what you want to hear?” Ryo inquired, his voice sharper than he had intended. He was partly right. There was no easy way for him to say it so it’s no surprise that if he hadn’t come up with a way to bring it into conversation, it may be hard to convey the condition accurately to him without confusion. But all the same, Akira felt like he should have been able to know. He should have been told something was wrong. 

“Well regardless, I’m here to make you feel better, so that’s what I’m going to do. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you sick, Ruu.” Akira stated as he rose from his chair and picked up a hair brush. He began to slowly run it through those blond strands of hair, de-tangling them. Judging by his friend’s reaction, he could tell he really enjoyed it. “That’s because I haven’t gotten sick that I know of… Not in the traditional sense at least. I remember being seriously ill as a child, but other than that I’ve been rather healthy. The doctors have said that I have a remarkably strong immune system. But that can also be a double edged sword.” Ryo stated, eating the rest of his cracker.

“What do you mean?” Akira inquired curiously. “Well a cold won’t be able to get me sick because my immune system is good at doing its job. But something of a super bug could. Something that is very efficient at what it does and is lethal because of it. Does that make sense?” Ryo explained, appeased when his best friend seemed to understand. “I still don’t know if I like that very much.” He stated, setting the brush down on the vanity. “I don’t like it much either… mostly because I’m the one sick with it.”

An illness like this was obviously rather serious. There wasn’t anything they could do about it, and the fact that the doctor for which they so often relied on didn’t know either what it was, such things were always cause for concern. After a while of silence, Akira collected up the empty dishes that were produced from Ryo’s rather meager meal. He put them downstairs and proceeded to rinse them up and load them into the dishwasher. He felt guilty about it, and so decided to help Jenny out. She was out at the store anyways from what he saw of the note on the counter.

He began to make his way upstairs, pure silence was in the room. Pushing open the door, he was happy to see that the blond was sound asleep upon his bed. Pulling the bed table away, unsure of how to close it up, he made enough room for him to wheel his chair over to the side of the bed. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, Akira proceeded to play on it as he ran his fingers through the older’s hair, hoping to aid him in a restful sleep. He knew that Ryo had chronic nightmares and as such he wanted to make sure he was able to find some comfort and solace as he rested from the sickness plaguing him.

Ryo woke while Akira was in the bathroom. He found out when he heard the terrible sound of vomiting and retching. He ran into the room, shocked and stunned to see that Ryo was throwing up a viscous fluid into the trash can. It was black with specks of red in it. Blood… there was blood in the vomit.

When he finally stopped, he pulled his head up, panting and wheezing. Tears were trailing down his face in thin streams. “It hurts…” He whimpered weakly like a child. He looked so vulnerable and timid as he said it. His body shook and trembled, before he jerked forward again and that terrible fluid came up once more. “I can’t stop…” Ryo whispered, between purges. How had it gotten so bad so quickly.

After enough vomiting his body decided that perhaps shutting down was the best option. Just purging the disease wasn’t enough. Ryo needed to go into survival mode. He swayed for a moment as the vomiting halted, before he collapsed fully onto the floor. He fell into a deep state of unconsciousness, all the while black vomit was still coming up. His body was still purging its contents, just now it was all over the floor.

Akira was a student in the equivalent of High School -- he knew what could happen if someone was throwing up in their sleep. He didn’t want his best friend to choke so he lifted him up, allowing for him to throw up where he wouldn’t suffocate. As he did this he began to call the emergency number. 119, he typed it into his phone, and when the operator picked up he didn’t even give them a chance to start talking.

“My best friend! He’s gotten really sick! At first he showed only mild symptoms but now he’s unconscious on the floor vomiting all over himself. He hasn’t had any alcohol, he’s only eaten soup, crackers, and toast that I know of. He has no allergies and he was of perfect health a little over a week ago. I don’t know how long he’s been sick for. He lives at--” He gave the address before finally falling silent.

“Okay sir, I’m sending an ambulance over immediately. What are your’s and your friends names, and are you at home or out?” The operator asked softly. “My name is Fudo Akira, my friend is Asuka Ryo. We are at his house, I was taking care of him for the day. He has an assistant, her name is Jenny, I don’t know a last name. She’s out right now.”

“Alright Mr Fudo, well just say calm. We will be there shortly. Would you like me to stay on the phone with you and give you instructions?” The operator asked, Akira was tempted to say that he didn’t want to, partly because he knew what he needed to do. His parents had taught him enough about how to take care of someone in a medical emergency. But at the same time he was so inexperienced. No amount of his wanting to be a doctor could help with that. “Yes, please stay on the line.”

The operator remained on call with him until the ambulance arrived. When they did they entered the house and rushed up to where Akira had stated they were. “The bedroom on the second floor, to the right, the only door that’s open.” That’s how he explained it, too much in a panic to give a better description. The EMTs came into the room and began to carry Ryo out to the stretcher, where they could load him up onto the ambulance. They seemed unphased by how he was still throwing up in their arms, now it was just a clear fluid with bits of red speckled within.

“Which hospital are you taking him to?” Akira asked, concern in his voice. They explained which one, and he nodded. He was definitely going to run there after the ambulance was out of sight. He didn’t know if Ryo would want him in the back with him… He didn’t know if that would even be the right thing to do. So he watched as EMTs and Paramedics got in and as the emergency vehicle sped off. How had things gotten so bad? How had everything fallen apart so quickly? 

The wailing of the sirens dissipated as the ambulance sped off into the mist of autumn. The night air starting to settle in over them. In twenty minutes, Jenny pulled up to the house and saw Akira standing there. “What happened!? Where’s the young master!?” She shouted. Rage sparked in her when the Devilman explained what had occurred. It was almost as though she was blaming him for this -- in a way she was.

“Let’s get these groceries out of the car and then let’s get the hospital… He is in capable hands but all the same I want to make sure the young master is okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading the October 15th chapter -- we are halfway through the Halloween event! I am so happy that you all have decided to keep up this far. For anyone who is new, welcome! I hope you enjoy Eden! If you guys could, definitely leave comments telling me what you think and if you know anyone else who would like this story, than feel free to share it around. The more eyes the better! I may be opening a discord server for the fic soon to hear more from you all -- but I have not decided yet. It would be fun to hear what people think about the story and it'd be fun to do events and whatnot. In the meantime I do run a devilman fandom server, so feel free to join it at this link. If you like this fic than chances are you're in the fandom.  
https://discord.gg/3qXuavG
> 
> Once again thank you all for reading -- I'm excited to write tomorrow's chapter.


	49. Coma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryo's body is under attack from a dangerous infection, Akira has to come to terms with everything that's happened up until this point under the wake of his best friend's possible passing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While this chapter has an overarching element focusing on Ryo, it also focuses on Akira and what he's been through. While it is true Akira's life has been happier up until this point, he too is still struggling with other such issues. Loosing Ryo would be the worst thing to happen yet, as he's his tether.

Ryo never woke up.

They estimated that he’d come back to consciousness in a day or two, that his body was just suffering from some major infection… But that never happened. His eyes remained sealed shut. Akira sat by Ryo’s bedside, holding his hand tightly in his own. Just the other day they were fighting, and now his friend was in such a terrible state. His vital processes were shutting down, his breathing growing weaker, his pulse slower, life support was going to be set up soon enough if his physical collapse continued as it was. The doctor’s stated that they didn’t know what had caused the comatose state outside of the infection, they explained how uncommon it was for something like that to happen from just an illness or infection alone. They took blood samples to study it more closely.

A month or so had passed, the soft breeze of September turned to the chill of October. He remembered hearing how much Ryo loved Halloween. How it was the only Holiday he felt like he could truly be himself… He remembered his joy for the creepy and horrific things. And now he would have to miss it… Halloween of 2016 was lost to him. He wouldn’t be able to watch horror films or eat candy, he wouldn’t be able to make his normal crafts or play in the leaf piles… He was locked in a bed instead, deep within his own mind, probably not even struggling to be free anymore.

“Mr Fudo?” Akira whirled around, startled to see a doctor standing in the doorway. She had long blond hair, beautiful blue eyes, and pale skin. She looked almost angelic. “I’m Doctor Azrael Churchill. You can just call me Azrael however…” She explained, approaching and holding out her hand for a shake. He shook it gently, smiling softly, trying to make it seem as though he was making out alright. 

“I’ve been told that you are Mr Asuka’s only remaining ‘family’ left.” She explained to him. “Oh no, no… I’m not… we’re not related. He’s my best friend is all.” Akira corrected, feeling somewhat sheepish. The gentle beeping of machines made him feel all the more tense and anxious, and yet he tried to hide it as best he could. “We know that, Mr Fudo. Allow me to explain. After Mr Asuka’s parents passed, he met with a lawyer and he met with your parents. With that Lawyer he spoke about who would have access to his medical documents in case of emergency, if something were to happen to him that prevents him from choosing a treatment, who would choose for him. Such as in a situation like this. He picked you, Mr Fudo. You are Akira Fudo right?” She asked him softly, to which he nodded, too stunned to really speak.

“Well then I must bring to your attention… Essentially what happened here is that not only are you now on Mr Asuka’s health insurance plan, due to arrangements he made with your parents in case something were to happen to them, you are also now capable of seeing any and all medical documents that pertain to him in order to decide the best course of action from this point onward.” Azrael held out a folder to the younger, it was rather thick, but it truly had everything in it. “Why are you sharing this with me now?” Akira inquired. “Because we need to know whether or not we should take him off of life support, essentially killing him.”

Akira’s face went pale, all color drained. His eyes went wide and he found himself silently sitting there. He settled back into his chair, unsure of what to say. His eyes went down to the folder, locked upon what was inside. “But… why? He can still get better, he still has time.” He argued, turning to look at her. “To be quite honest, Mr Fudo, cases like these don’t normally get better… This is a completely unknown infection and you have to ask yourself if it’ll ever come out of his system… What will it do to him when he wakes.”

“He could wake up to be paralyzed or unable to talk. He could wake up blind, missing his sense of smell, his sense of taste, anything really. He could wake up with any number of things gone from his life because… well… it’s an unknown infection, we don’t know what kind of things this virus is capable of and we are also unsure if it is even a virus at all. We’ve never seen anything like it before.” Silence fell between them, not a word was uttered before Azrael sighed. “You have time to decide, we won’t do anything until you choose to pull the plug. Just… really think about it.” And on that note she got up and left, peering back only once to see if the boy was thinking about reading the folder set out before him. He needed to make that educated decision.

Azrael walked down the hall, sighing all the while. She felt bad for the kids… She knew that this was the true Satan, and as such he would not pass from the illness passed to him, but all the same. “Did you do what you needed to?” She looked up to see her twin brother. Uriel looked so sick now, so weak, as half of his hair had gone a charcoal black color. So many times he’s had to revive Lucifer… It wasn’t fair.

“Did you get anything from him?” Uriel asked curiously. “You mean a conclusion? No… he doesn’t know if he can make that decision I don’t think. I hope he doesn’t. It’d mean that this time loop will have to repeat earlier.” She sighed, opening the car door and slipping into the passenger seat. She watched as Uriel got in beside her, lifting his key and starting the car. “Damn that Michael… Why does he have to make it this way? Why does he have to put him through so much? I still don’t know what he did wrong.” She continued, reaching into her purse and pulling out a cigarette.

“I thought you said you stopped smoking.” Uriel commented. “Yeah I stopped smoking cigars, they’re not the same.” She smirked to him, as though she was mocking him. “Well, are you going to light it for me, brother dear?” Azreal teased. 

She was happy as her brother let out a sigh and pulled a lighter out of the glove box. He flicked it, once, twice, it lit. Soon the flame was upon the end of the cigarette, lighting it quickly. She rolled down the window of the car so she could breathe the smoke out into the sky instead of into the car. “Back to the conversation about Michael… I don’t know why he feels the need to do this to him… I cannot blame Lucifer for hating Heaven after he wakes up. After what happened to Lucius...” He shifted out of park and into drive, the car beginning to speed along.

“Was that the baby that he miscarried?” Uriel nodded in response. “Yeah… After all of that I really can’t blame him for rebelling either… I also cannot blame him for wanting to kill humans either… After what they did. He’s justified. But then again, I’ve never been too fond of them either. I suppose when you are taking soul after soul from terrible places, most of which humanity put them in, it can lead to such things.” The angel of death took another drag of her cigarette before flicking some ashes outside the window. A puff of smoke was exhaled into the air outside, dissipating like a thin fog in the setting October sunlight. Her heart ached for them.

Back at the hospital, Akira looked into the folder, he slipped the cover open and began to look over everything. He was shocked by what he saw. Some of which he knew about already, some of which he had no clue of.  _ ‘He came from the rain forest and was brought up by a tribe there, however most of his tribe was killed before him leading for him to run away. He was adopted a year or so later by the Asuka family. Things were well and he exceeded in school, he was bullied a bit for being a ‘nerd’ but for the most part he was rather well. When he reached adolescence, he ended up getting a period, revealing to everyone that he is one of the only known cases of someone being true intersex. Having both functioning male and female reproductive systems.  _

_ He began to be abused by his family and school and grew spiteful of his body. As such he began to do things to look more heavily in one gender or the other. For a while he identified as female, but after the death of his parents he decided that he wanted to be a boy instead. He gives a reason for this saying that he wanted his mother to have a daughter before she died, and since he could’ve gone in either direction, he decided to identify as a girl. When he had that change of heart he began to show extreme dysphoria towards his body. Wearing binders which were so tight they began to bruise his spine and ribs, falling into terrible stats of mental disarray, and ultimately struggling with life. _

_ It is our belief that Ryo Asuka struggles with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Depression, Anxiety, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, mild Antisocial Personality Disorder, Anorexia Nervosa, and an unidentified type of Dissociative Disorder. He does not seem to want treatment for these issues and instead ignores them until they become too much and he has to go seek a temporary solution.’ _

Akira scanned the folder’s contents, his heart dropping more and more as he read. He saw what Ryo said about his school and what happened there, he saw what he said about his father and his ‘intersex treatment’ -- how it wasn’t even treatment at all. He went on and on in therapy sessions about one thing or another. He had no idea how his friend had lived through all of this without saying anything. When he got to the x-rays he finally lost it. Tears cluttered his vision and poured down his face. The bruises, he could see them clearly, how that binder had compressed his chest and damaged the tissue of his breast.

Akira closed the folder and put it on the table, he couldn’t look at it anymore. It hurt him too much. Instead he simply scooted his chair closer to the bed and proceeded to run his fingers through Ryo’s hair. Why didn’t he know sooner? He supposed that given the rejection Ryo faced before he didn’t want to open up, even to him… he couldn’t blame him…

Especially not after he yelled at him a month or so ago. How he grabbed his shoulders and shook him. How he wished he could apologize again. He could apologize now but who is to say that Ryo will hear him. “Ryo…?” Akira began, his voice trembling as he cried. “I’m so sorry for not having been here for you… I’m so sorry for not noticing sooner how much you were hurting… I knew you were dealing with a lot but I didn’t realize it was so bad… I didn’t realize that you were… Look, I know that you think you’re ugly or deformed but you’re not. I don’t know if you can hear me but you’re really not. You’re beautiful. You’re talented. If you want to be a boy or a girl I don’t care, I’ll be here with you. You’re my best friend and nothing will change that. Sure we fight but I… I don’t know what I’d do without you. I wish I could thank you for always being there for me… For helping me learn to read and write, for helping me become brave and strong, for giving me the strength to fight. I know that you’re not very happy with people, I can see why… After seeing all that they’ve done to you I can’t blame you… But know that I’m here for you. I’ll always be here for you.”

He brushed a lock of hair out of Ryo’s face, pushing it to go behind his ear. He looked so peaceful as he lay there… That doctor was right, it is a hard decision. On the one hand he wanted to show Ryo that his life could be wonderful, that now he was getting a second chance to make it worth living, but on the other hand he’s already been through so much. He didn’t need to be suffering anymore. Akira could just vote to have him sleep for eternity and live in that dream world.

He felt a hand rest upon his shoulder, looking up he saw Jenny. “He was afraid to tell you… I’m glad you know now though.” Akira bit his lip and turned to look back to Ryo, continuing to sooth the older. “Which part was he afraid to tell me?” He asked. “All of it.” She replied. The back and forth was so quick it was like ripping off a bandage, all the same there was nothing that could be said. 

“I wish I could tell him that nothing he could be would ever make me hate him. His struggles don’t define him… I want to help him gather up the pieces of his heart and put them back together, I want to help him smile genuinely… I don’t think I’ve ever actually fully seen him smile.” Akira told her, shocked when he felt her squeeze his shoulder. “I’ve seen him smile… Genuinely smile… He was talking about how much he cared about you. You’re all he has left now other than me.”

He knew that, he knew that all too well, but all the same he didn’t want to accept it. He wasn’t that good of a person. He couldn’t even save his own parents, he couldn’t protect Miki when that incident happened, he can’t even read right. He should have seen the signs of his friend hurting but he didn’t, he chose to ignore it. Now he was regretting it terribly. He knew he should have pressed his mother when he told her that he felt that Ryo was in trouble, that his parents were hurting him. She didn’t believe him, thought it was just his imagination playing tricks, he should have pushed it.

_ ‘Hey mom, I need some help.’  _ Akira prayed quietly when he came home that night.  _ ‘Firstly I want to apologize for not being able to save you or dad… You guys didn’t deserve to go as you did… You didn’t deserve that pain… Secondly, I need some help… I know the Makimuras always tell me to pray to God when I need guidance, but I don’t want to bother him. It’s stupid, I know, but I feel like I’ve been bothering everyone as of late. It’s not fair… So instead I’ll ask you, since you always said I could. I’ve found out some awful things happened to Ryo… He’s gotten really sick and has fallen into a Coma. I don’t want to pull the plug, I don’t want him to die, he could live such a better life now that I know. But at the same time… Do I want to risk him waking up to a world he doesn’t want to be in anyways and will never want to be in? Please mother, if you could give me a sign, any sign for what I should do than please--’ _

He jumped as he heard his bedroom Television suddenly spark to life. Ryo’s voice fluttered from the speakers. He was smiling and laughing on a rerun of one of his talk show episodes. Akira remembered watching these, he remembered he would watch them every single time they aired and up until now he’s actually been watching them with Ryo when he could, asking him personally what it was like filming and what his co-hosts were like. His stories were always phenomenal.

‘So, Mr Asuka. Allow me to ask you a very personal question.’ Ryo nodded his head to his co-host. He was an older gentleman from Africa, the blond has stated the man was one of the friendliest he has ever met, wise and kind. Someone he admired and was lucky to have speaking with him on the show.  _ ‘If you were in a coma, would you want someone to pull the plug or would you want them to wait a little longer?’ _ The man asked, Akira remembered where this question came from. They were talking about a strange case in Russia. A girl was in a coma and after closer examination it turns out when they took her off life support she actually wasn’t in a coma at all… She ended up dying anyways.

_ ‘I would want them to wait at least a few years -- if a few years pass and I don’t respond to stimuli in any regard for those years, than I would want them to pull the plug. Because at that point, there’s no chance for me to recover.’ _ That was his answer. Akira smiled and looked out the window, his mother was listening to him, she was listening to him. He grabbed his remote and let out a sigh. “Thanks mom… I love you…” He whispered before turning the television up a few notches.

Seeing Ryo so full of life on that show, even if he was pretending, really did soothe him. It gave him hope. Everything would be okay. While he was watching he pulled out a laptop and began looking into therapy. Not only for himself, but for Ryo too…

He wanted for them both to heal from what happened, to move on, because this world was definitely worth living for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The infection that Ryo is struggling with is an angelic one. It is very deadly and every single Ryo of every single alternate universe goes through it. However every other Ryo will succumb to the disease -- effectively eliminating any chances of there being two Satan's existing simultaneously. There's a reason for this which will be explained later in the story.


	50. Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Christmas time, and Ryo wakes up just in time for the season.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We made it to 50 chapters! Everyone celebrate! I know that it's the Halloween season, but this chapter actually takes place during Christmas time. I'm sorry for the confusion. It is Christmas of 2016 to be specific. The chapter starts sad but then warms up to a happy scene. Christmas truly is a magical time of year.

“Good morning Ryo.” Akira muttered as he walked into the room. “I brought you flowers…” He looked at the other’s sleeping face and a frown fell over his features. He tried so hard to pretend like he could hear him, perhaps he could somewhere deep in that pretty head of his, but it was hard sometimes. On days like this, where he felt as though he was walking on a tightrope, just about ready to fall in the abyss below, the best thing he could have was Ryo’s voice. That’s all he wanted to hear. He wanted to hear him greet him, or even scold him. He’d even take the softest whimper.

Akira set the flowers in the vase he bought, already full of water, placing it on the bedside table. It looked so good in this room, a room which was so bleak and depressing. After that he pulled over a chair and sat in it, right next to the bed. He held Ryo’s hand gently in his own and just kept talking. “You know it started snowing today Ryo. I know how much you love the snow. Especially since it reminds you of America and ‘white Christmases’. Jenny and I already put up your decorations. I didn’t know you had so many… They’re all so beautiful…” Christmas is celebrated so different in Japan as opposed to other countries… Akira knew that, but all the same, it was nice to see the glimpse of Christmas from the west even if Ryo wasn’t there to explain it all.

“I hope you wake up soon… Jenny said you were planning something special for Christmas, me and you she said, but I’m still unsure of what that is. Don’t be mad at her when you wake up though for telling me, I don’t think she meant to. Although if I had to be honest, the only thing I could possibly want for Christmas if for you to wake up. I miss you Ryo… I miss you very much.” Despite how he rambled on, there was still no response from him. He hated it.

The door opened, Akira didn’t turn to look, his eyes focused on his best friend as he held his hand, caressing the skin. Gently caressing… His skin felt so soft to the touch, so warm and gentle. A hand rested on his shoulder, the devilman turned to look. He saw Miki and Miko standing there. He was never too terribly good at making friends, but he had to say he got along well with Miko and he lived with Miki, so in the end he felt fairly close to the two of them over the years of them doing track and field.

“You left home today without any breakfast so I thought I’d bring you some.” Miki stated handing him a small lunch box. Akira smiled up at her, nodding his head. “Miko saw me walking here and decided to come along…” Miko nodded when she was brought up, a gentle greeting. She felt bad for Akira, having your best friend fall into a coma… She felt even worse for him because now they were the same beast. Both devilmen, both who will eternally be outcasts in secret.

“So what happened, if you don’t mind my asking.” Miko inquired, her eyes going over to Ryo, she studied him as his chest rose and fell. Up and down, up and down, with oxygen being forced into his lungs. “He got so sick they had to put him into a coma. His body was shutting down fast. They say it’s an unknown infection that has never been seen before… They don’t think it’s contagious however since it seems almost unique to him. Nobody knows what it is.” The two girls were silent for a while. What was to say about it. In the end they couldn’t fathom it either. If a doctor couldn’t identify why he was this way, than what chance would they have to do the same thing.

After a while of silence, Miko picked up on something. “Akira? Does Ryo’s hand normally do that?” She asked. Akira was so distracted that he hadn’t noticed that the older’s hand was twitching. It was almost like he was trying to return the grip. “What!? Ryo!?” He looked up at the other’s face to see that there was no response.

“Reflexes… maybe?” Miki suggested, somewhat let down. She hated seeing Akira this upset, even though she didn’t quite see the allure of the boy for which he was so close to. She thought Ryo was just straight rude… understandably so given everything that she has seen of him, the limited encounters she has had. Akira settled back into his seat and watched as that hand continued to twitch. He was about to just settle on that thought until those fingers began to curl.

“No! These aren’t reflexes!” The hand gripped around his own weakly. Akira’s hand went to his mouth as tears began to collect. “Ryo, can you hear me Ryo!?” As though a sign from God came upon him, he saw that expression on his still face shift. A soft smile was on his features. Weak, faint, hardly there, but Akira knew it better than anyone else. A joyful laugh escaped him, mixed with tears. “Oh my god! I’m going to grab a nurse or doctor!” And with that Miki left the room, a smile spread across Miko’s expression. “You woke him up… Like sleeping beauty.” She laughed.

“I’m right here, Ruu… If you’re awake, squeeze my hand as hard as you can. Try to fight to open your eyes. I know they must feel so heavy but… We miss seeing them.” The two devilmen felt shock when the grip upon Akira’s hand tightened. It wasn’t by a lot, but it was still more than before. He watched as those eyes moved beneath those eyelids. Soon enough it seemed the older found the strength to open his eyes.

The two boys made eye contact, holding it for a while, before Ryo smiled. His smile was so warm and happy, as though he was being welcomed into a beautiful paradise. “A… ki… ra…” He whispered, his voice hoarse, a quiet whisper just hardly louder than the wheeze of the machines. “Ruu!” He couldn’t help himself as he took the older into his arms, embracing him close and squeezing him tight. Not so tight that it’d hurt him, but tight enough to remind the blond that someone in the world was waiting for him to wake up. 

“I missed you so much… I thought I was going to lose you… I’m so sorry, for everything, for fighting and for turning you away. It wasn’t right of me! I understand why you feel the way you do, I understand why you are hurting, I get it. I’m sorry I didn’t before, I let my anger get the best of me and for that I’m so sorry.” Ryo couldn’t answer, but if he could he would tell him it was okay, he didn’t need to hurt or beat himself up over it. He could hug him back, even though he wanted to, what he could do was continue to smile as tears fell from his pretty blue eyes. 

Instead Ryo’s hand gripped onto Akira’s pant leg, as hard as he could, trying to show him that he was enjoying the affection. “Please release him, Mr Fudo.” A nurse stated as she walked in, only for the blond to begin protesting. “N… no…” He whispered, weakly and meekly. “But Mr Asuka.” The nurse responded, only to be met with a glare. She supposed she could understand why a patient would want that contact. It hurt him, but he didn’t care, he wanted to feel Akira’s touch.

In that moment, Ryo wanted to tell him how he felt, he wanted to tell him how much he loved him, but his vocal chords were already straining trying to get all his emotions out. He wanted to speak and protest louder, but that wasn’t possible. Not after four months of not speaking. It hurts to say anything. For now he will try to just convey his emotions as he rests in Akira’s arms. The arms of the person he’s ever truly loved.

But that wasn’t all… He remembered everything. He understood now. He understood why he did what he did. He wasn’t human, he was someone else entirely. He wasn’t Ryo Asuka. He was Lucifer. He remembered so clearly. He remembered lying in a bed of flowers as Amon mated with him. He remembered dancing with Sirene in the sky, a beautiful display of white feathers. He remembered cradling Lucius in his arms as he settled him into the arms of Amon’s mother, Aotz.

He remembered that meteor coming down upon them as he explained to Amon that they would see each other again… Amon was in there, Amon was with Akira… He understood now. A demon may only mate once. Lucifer is eternally bonded with Amon, however because of Sabbath, Ryo is eternally bonded with Akira. Wed under the law of the demons. He wanted to tell him, but the fact of the matter was that he knew he couldn’t… Judging by that flicker in his eyes however, Amon recognized him, Amon knew it was him in that ‘human’ body. Amon recognized his wife.

His dreams were strange, a girl named Jun Fudo and some odd adventures permeated half of his dreams. On the other half, however, he also dreamt of traveling through time with Akira and attempting to confess, he remembered such things. Finally, however, right before he awoke he saw God. He saw his father.  _ ‘You are only growing, like a chick inside an egg.’ _ He said to him…  _ ‘The one who you love more than anyone else is waiting for you, it’s time for you to go to him.’ _

Ryo didn’t know what any of that means, yet all the same, he felt that he would one day. One day it would all become clear to him. For now he was in the embrace of the person he cared about most in this world. The person whom he wished to spend the rest of his life with. The person whom he would end the world for and create Eden. A utopia for just them, without humanity, without the crimes and hatred they will bring. This was their world, this was their home… They would make it that way.

Ryo remained in the hospital for a few days, regaining his strength, running tests. His infections seemed to have passed and he was back to relatively good health. Other than, of course, fatigue. He could walk, although he’d get tired every time he did. He could read and play games, but afterwards he’d need rest. Everything exhausted him, but that was to be expected, he spent three months in a coma after all.

He finally was brought home on Christmas Eve in a wheelchair. Akira said that he would spend that day and the day after with him. “The presents are already under the tree. I think you’ll like what I got you.” He chimed happily, rolling his best friend up the driveway and to the front door. Throughout the holidays, Ryo could pretend that they were married instead of just best friends. A dream he always had.

He remembered Jenny playing music over the old record player that his family owned. “Come on, dance with me, I’ll make sure you don’t fall.” Akira spoke, helping Ryo out of his wheelchair, they swayed side to side under the light of the Christmas tree. Candles all about them.  _ ‘Have yourself a merry little Christmas, let your heart be light… From now on your troubles will be out of sight…’ _ The gentle tones of Frank Sinatra came from the speaker. Akira didn’t understand a single word that was said, but he saw how the older smiled and knew it was perfect.

Ryo set his head on Akira’s shoulders, Jenny spotted him crying tears of joy as they swayed back and forth. “Ryo, I have to tell you something.” The devilman began, his one hand resting on the older’s lower back and the other in between his shoulder blades. “What is it Akira?” Ryo asked in response, he was afraid to pull his face away from his shoulders, his hands resting against the younger’s strong chest, he didn’t want the other to see him crying and blushing as he was.

_ ‘Have yourself a merry little Christmas… Make the Yuletide gay… From now on your troubles will be miles away…’ _ The vocals continued all around them, Jenny peeked in from the kitchen, smiling faintly as she watched the two dance together in the living room. She had yet to realize that Ryo knew his true identity, so when the snow started falling outside, she didn’t think anything of it. She didn’t think that perhaps it was a manifestation of the angel’s powers coming to fruition. A sign that he learned a skill he never knew before.

“I know about your medical conditions… How you’re intersex, how you’re struggling with mental illness, I saw it all. I just wanted to tell you that I’m here for you. I won’t ever leave your side. You’ve protected me for so long, I think it’s about time I do the same for you.” The tears that slipped from Ryo’s eyes came in thick streams. He knew what he had to do, he had to confess. He had said those words to him that allayed all his fears. If Akira was telling the truth than it meant he could confidently do as such.  _ ‘Here we are as in olden days… Happy golden days of yore… Faithful friends who are dear to us… Gather near to us once more…’ _ Jenny smiled where she stood listening in on what Akira was saying, finally… They were getting a happy ending. 

She felt a presence behind her, turning she saw the spirit of Sirene standing there. Frank Sinatra continued on, making her voice and conversation blend into the background. “Look at them… Look at how happy that are…” Sirene whispered, embracing herself, her somewhat translucent body looking just as beautiful as she did before she died. No wounds, no pain, she was in tip top form. “I know… I’m so proud… I’m so happy… Our little Satan is finally growing. We may have a chance this time.” Jenny stated, feeling tears of her own sting her eyes. It’s been so long since she’s cried, and now she felt her heart aching for the angel she had the honor of calling a son.

_ ‘Through the years we all will be together… If the fates allow… Hang a shining star upon the highest bow…’ _ Both of them, knowing English, felt touched by the song playing. “Good job, Jenny. You did so well… I just wanted to tell you that. I think I can finally rest in peace now. I remember it all… All the pain and hurt, I remember. I’m so glad it’s going to be over.” Sirene spoke, embracing the woman who has guided her, crying her own tears. “Thank you, demon mother. Please, keep protecting them.” She said finally as the snow continued to fall. 

“Of course, I would never leave them to hurt. They’re our king and queen.” While she was holding the demon bird in her arms, she felt her form begin to melt away. She didn’t try to stop her, she knew that it was time for her to move on for a while. She’d come back eventually, but for now, it was time for her to rest. The bird turned into a mist that disappeared into the night. Turning to look out the window, Jenny saw her reappear in the storm. Kaim was by her side. She climbed up onto the demons back before they vanished into the thickening blizzard.

_ ‘So have yourself a merry little Christmas…’ _ She turned her attention back to Ryo and Akira, shocked at the conversation they were having. “Akira, I have to tell you something.” Ryo pulled away, smiling up at him, tears falling from his eyes. “What is it, Ryo? Why are you crying?” Concern was in his face, but it didn’t last long.  _ ‘Have yourself a merry little Christmas…’ _ Without saying another word, the blond rose up on his tiptoes and let himself kiss the younger. He embraced him so tightly, letting himself fall to intuition this time instead of the fear he saw himself showing before. If the other could accept him for being the way he was, something he couldn’t control, than he should be able to accept him like this. He should be able to understand how he felt.

_ ‘So have yourself a merry little Christmas…’ _

“I love you Akira…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Satan is awake, this is true, Ryo knows his true identity but not only that, the love Akira has shown him has taught him how to use miracles. His first miracle he used was making it snow. It was an accidental miracle, a reflection of the sheer joy he feels, but it was one nonetheless, he gave them a white Christmas and snowed them inside in the process.
> 
> Also the song in this chapter is Frank Sinatra's version of 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas'. It was originally written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane.


	51. Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Christmas day and Ryo and Akira decide to spend it together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are going to be a few fluffy, happy, filler chapters up until the climax of this mini-arc. We will move onto the apocalypse arc closer to Halloween -- I feel like a reprieve from the pain of the previous chapters is needed now that we are going into the heavier parts of this story.

“Merry Christmas, Ryo.” He opened his eyes to find Akira laying in bed next to him. His body was so warm and reassuring. To feel his arms wrapped around him was like a dream come true. When he confessed the night prior, he firmly believed that Akira would turn him away. Instead what he got was a kiss in return. Even now, as they lay intertwined in bed, he believed that it was just a fever dream. Yet once more he felt Akira’s soft lips against his own in greeting. He remembered, a long time ago, when he would walk to his parent’s rooms and shake them awake. He remembered when his mother would walk with him downstairs to the tree and began presenting him Christmas presents. Ryo never asked for much as a child, but somehow his mother always knew what would make him happy on such a holiday as this one. A holiday he didn’t celebrate until he was six years old.

Feeling Akira’s strong arms carrying him down the stairs and to his wheelchair felt so wonderful. With him being as easy to exhaust as he is, it was agreed between everyone that he would remain in his wheelchair and rest, only standing when he had decent support or when he was going to use the bathroom. “Merry Christmas, young master.” Jenny greeted from the kitchen, the sound of the record playing slipping through the lower level. “Today’s breakfast is the traditional Christmas breakfast of the house. Eggs, scrambled, without cheese as to your preference, pancakes cooked with homemade batter with a bit of butter on top, waffles which are being cooked currently in the iron, french toast with a dash of cinnamon and powdered sugar, and bacon pan fried without oil. I also pulled out the remainder of the cookie mix that I didn’t make for Santa Claus so you two could have some fun after the presents.” Jenny explained to the two of them, a soft smile on her face. She always treated Ryo like a child during the Christmas season.

At the mentioned of Santa, the blond couldn’t help but giggle softly. Akira was somewhat confused, but didn’t say much about it, he figured it must have been more of an American thing, to which he was correct. “Thank you so much Jenny… Can we eat it in the living room, while watching a few Christmas movies?” Of course she couldn’t turn Ryo down, even if she wanted to, so with a heavy sigh Jenny resigned with a nod of her head. “Of course we can. Why don’t you settle in the living room for a bit, and after we eat breakfast we can start on presents. For the meantime, why don’t you turn on the news… The blizzard outside is getting fairly bad.”

Jenny was fairly concerned about the storm, but only slightly. She wanted to go grocery shopping tomorrow if she could, but it didn’t seem like that was possible. The demon listened out as Ryo and Akira went into the living room and turned on the news. They were truly so cute together, although the forecast definitely didn’t ease her worries.  _ ‘A sudden storm has struck central Japan. It popped up out of nowhere it seems and it won’t be letting up for quite a while. It is expected that we will get up to five feet of snow in some areas. We recommend that everyone stay indoors.’ _

She peeked her head in to see Ryo and Akira snuggled up together on the sofa. The devilman’s arm was around the blond, holding him close to his body. The lights of the Christmas tree were reflecting off their figures. Splotches of white, red, and green were on their expressions. She watched as Ryo looked up at his best friend, whom of which noticed and gave him a loving kiss. In such a private setting, Akira was free to be as loving and romantic as possible. In public, however, it is a debatable factor of how he will behave… Boys being together isn’t necessarily mainstream.

“I’m so glad we’re together Akira… I’ve loved you for so long…” Ryo stated, bliss in his voice, as he snuggled up against him more, closing his eyes at the same time.

“Why didn’t you say anything, Ryo? I know you’re a boy and all but… but I would have at least given you a try.” Akira explained to him, his fingers gently guiding over his back. Up and down, ghosting over his skin. “Because I didn’t want to lose you. I would be content pretending that I had no feelings if it meant you wouldn’t leave me.” He answered meekly, obviously feeling rather stupid for his faulty reasoning. “You know I would never leave you… You’re my best friend… And now you’re my boyfriend.” Ryo’s heart skipped a beat, Akira actually called him his boyfriend! He was Akira’s boyfriend!

“Do you really mean that?” He asked, eyes sparkling with tears. “Of course I do, Ruu. I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it. That’d be lying.” Feeling Akira’s hand on his cheek, brushing away all his tears, really did sooth him. He loved him so much, he was so in love he’d do anything for him. He was content to believe that he’d never have his love, and yet now as he sits here, he realized that perhaps all those time loops he was just a victim of his own inaction. While he couldn’t remember anything explicit from those repeats, he did know that in every one he didn’t end up with Akira… Instead the Devilman wound up loathing him as the repeat came to pass. Perhaps if he had confessed his feelings sooner than he would’ve escaped sooner.

“Young Master, I don’t mean to intrude, but it appears we are all out of milk. I cannot make tonight’s eggnog without it. I’m going to have to go out and fetch it.” Jenny stated, much to Ryo’s distaste. “I’ll go with you, to make sure that you get there safe.” Akira added, beginning to rise from the sofa. “No wait! Did you check in the cellar, Jenny?” He waved his hand in a way that could have been seen as dismissive. Akira surely didn’t notice, but Jenny did. “Young master, I checked everywhere in the downstairs walk in freezer, I saw everything but milk.” She explained to him, to which Ryo shook his head. “I saw some above the bread -- please check again, if it’s not there than you can go.”

With a huff, Jenny complied. Akira remained standing until she got back. They listened as she opened the cellar door and began to descend the stairs. She walked to the walk-in freezer and pulled open the door, looking about the cold interior. Surprise fluttered over her when lo-and-behold, there was indeed milk above the bread. She used her powers and everything to locate the milk! There was none! She studied it and found, to her surprise, this wasn’t milk that one could get from Japan. This was a brand exclusive to America! Not a lick of Japanese text was on the label. It clicked in her head. The snow, the wave of his hand… “Lord Satan…” She whispered.

He was awake, and he had learned to do something that he didn’t know how to do otherwise. He learned the key to escape. This was the earliest that he’s ever woken up. He’s never been awake so soon. Often times he remains asleep well into the execution of his plan. Yet now, he chose to hold off, to feign ignorance. Perhaps this was both a ploy to keep Akira home, but also to tell her he was awakened. She thought she saw the familiar sparkle of the devil in his eyes. Walking out of the freezer and closing the door, she carried the milk upstairs. “Thank you, Young Master, I located it.” She peered in through the doorway to see Akira settling back on the sofa.

“No need for thanks, I’m just glad I could keep you two from going out in such an awful storm.” As soon was Akira was back under the blanket, the blond was snuggled up against him, curled up in a tight ball, taking in the younger’s warmth. She had to admit it was romantic, but all the same she wanted to bring up that she now knew. How she had not seen sooner was a mystery. With that she returned to breakfast, now believing this to be the one time they escape. This is their happy ending… Even if she knows that in the war, once more, she would sadly pass away. She had full trust that Satan would take his kingdom of Hell, one that’s been gifted to him, once everything was solved.

“Breakfast is ready.” Jenny chimed, carrying in plates and silverware. She set it all on the table before them before beginning to separate it into servings. Once each plate was made, making sure Akira had the largest serving, she moved to the television. She set up The Nightmare Before Christmas to play instead of the news. Such a movie was one that she knew both Ryo and Akira were familiar with.

During the movie she would occasionally look over to see Ryo and Akira being romantic with each other as they ate. It was sickeningly sweet. Once more she saw how little her lord ate, he always had a small stomach. It just was how he was.  _ ‘Angels don’t need to eat’  _ he would always say. She remembered when he was expecting and he ate so much, or when he was sick or hurt. Jenny supposed that the appetite of an angel only appeared when they needed more energy than what they could gain from the sun.

After breakfast, they proceeded to gifts. There was nothing too special, but somehow it felt all the more romantic. Ryo gave Akira a gift he had been sewing for months. A hand made hat, scarf, and glove set. One that would stretch if he needed to transform so it wouldn’t rip or tear. Akira gave Ryo a bunch of makeup and art supplies, knowing full well the habits of the older as well as his hidden passion for creation. Later on, the duo made cookies together, Akira supporting the blond all the while, swaying back and forth in the kitchen, almost like an old married couple.

“Akira, you want to know something?” Ryo began softly as he sipped on his eggnog. “I couldn’t do this with anyone else. You’re the only person I can trust, the only person I can truly love. The world is mean… Humanity is cruel… But you’re different… There’s something about you that’s so special.” Akira set down his cup, taking Ryo’s from his hand, the younger pressed a kiss to those pretty lips. From there the situation escalated and escalated. Under the lights of the Christmas tree, they committed themselves to each other.

That night, Akira lost his virginity… That night Ryo let himself have full consensual sex for the first time in this life time… That night they felt all the emotions love could bring. Akira saw those scars and bore witness to the body that his best friend, no, his boyfriend, was so terrified of. In his mind it was the most beautiful body he could have ever laid eyes upon for no other reason than because it was Ryo’s.

After they made love, Akira carried the now exhausted blond to bed. They had a second, less enthusiastic round, in the older’s bedroom… Only to collapse into the sheets. Akira held Ryo in his arms, he could feel Amon’s contentment in the back of his head. That’s how he knew this was right. That’s how he knew this was his good decision. If Amon, who is wed to someone, can settle with someone else… than it has to be a good choice right? Running fingers through his hair, he let himself drift off.

Happy and at peace with the world as it was… If they could remain snowed in for the rest of eternity than he’d be happy with that, so long as he could hold Ryo for the rest of eternity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jenny is completely aware of Satan -- however Satan himself is not aware that she knows. As such he will continue to preform miracles in a subtle way around her. Akira, on the other hand, is none the wiser to anything that's going on.


	52. Girls Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miko and Miki spend a girl's night indoors during the blizzard that Ryo created.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It seems like Akira and Ryo aren't the only couple finally finding solace in each other, Miki and Miko are growing closer and closer by the day. Having spent so much time together over the past few months.

“Man, it’s really coming down out there isn’t it… I hope Akira is okay.” Miki mused as she looked out the window. The snow was drifting lazily about. This was the first Christmas in a long time where the other wasn’t at home. But all the same, this was the first Christmas that her family allowed her to have a friend over. When she told her parents about Miko’s situation, they were quick to invite her to stay with them over the holidays.  _ ‘Jesus always taught us to accept everyone and to give anyone who needed a helping hand just that. After all, that’s why we celebrate Christmas.’  _ Her father said cheerily, she didn’t mind their beliefs, even if she personally wasn’t a believer.

“I’m sure he’s fine, he’s staying with that twink, isn’t he?” Miko joked to her, if she was being honest, she was kind of jealous of Ryo. He was so pretty, how was it that he had a better figure than she did. “Good thing Akira isn’t here to hear you say that he'd get so upset.” Miki laughed softly as she climbed down from the window sill. She allowed herself to fall beside her best friend, relaxing there, a hum on her tone. “I’m glad you invited me over.” The older began, her voice distant in a way.

“Well after you told me what your home life was like, I couldn’t just let you stay there. Your grandmother shouldn’t be treating you so poorly… I’m just glad you won’t have to go out in this storm to get food or something, since God knows they can’t keep a fridge stocked.” Miki complained, she didn’t have to live through something like that, it hurt her heart to know some people were not as fortunate as her. Akira’s parents were neglectful, even if they still loved him. Miko’s grandparents, since her actual parents were dead, were abusive and aggressive. According to Akira, his own best friend went through horrible abuse too. How was it that she felt as though she was the only one to be living a carefree life.

Sure she had her issues, her parents misunderstanding her in one way or another, but for the most part it was just small little mishaps. In the end it was always resolved in one way or another. She was lucky that the only thing she had to worry about were her grades. “I’m certain when this blizzard is over, I would’ve been found frozen out in the road. The police would contemplate if it was suicide or not.” Miki sure didn’t like the sound of that, it was awful. She sat up on her elbows and frowned.

“Well I’m sure glad you fucking didn’t! I think I’d miss you way too much, Miko.” She complained, her expression so sour one might expect someone showed her a video of someone kicking a puppy. “You’d miss me?” Miko repeated, tilting her head slightly, her long brown hair framing her face curiously. “Yes, as a matter of fact I would. You’re my best friend, don’t you know that? We’ve been hanging out together since we were kids, and now being able to hang out with you more has been so wonderful. I wouldn’t want to trade you for anything, you know that?”

Silence fell between them, the Christmas music echoing up from downstairs was the only ambient noise. Miki knew her parents were dancing down there with Taro playing with whatever new toy he had gotten. They stared at each other, eyes locked, Miki with a smile on her expression and Miko with a frown. Somehow the juxtaposition was almost welcome, the two auras they carried intermingling to create a beautiful palette of feelings.

“Miki, I need to confess something to you.” Miko began, her gaze looking away, she couldn’t look at her if she was going to say this. How was she going to even explain it all-- she had no clue. She wanted to try though. Her best friend deserved to know it. She needed her to know what kind of person she was talking to. In all honesty, the other girl’s stance on Homosexuality was something that was never clear to Miko… She never had the courage to bring it up.

She didn’t know how she felt about it, and as such if their friendship was going to continue, she needed to know how the older felt about her. “Miki… I--” She was cut off by the sound of a ringtone. Miki jolted upright, hopping off the bed. “Oh shit, that’s Akira.” She moved over to her bedside table, picking it up. “I’m sorry just one second, he never calls me unless it’s an emergency.” Miko was startled into shock, unable to finish her thought as she watched Miki pick up the phone.

“Hello? Akira? Are you okay?” She asked, her expression stern and worried.  _ ‘Hey, yeah, I’m fine Miki. I just wanted to give you the good news.’ _ Akira responded on the other end, he sounded so giddy. “Good news? What good news?” She raised a brow and looked over to Miko with a confused expression. The other girl watched as the younger’s expression switched through a myriad of faces. “What? No way Akira, you’re kidding!” A smile spread across her face, for a moment the devilman was worried that the boy had confessed his love for her. What a nightmare that would be.

Yet she couldn’t be more wrong. “I have to tell mom and dad! Hold up!” She watched as the human ran out of the bedroom and proceeded to shout all around the house. “Mom! Dad! Akira’s got a boyfriend! Akira has finally done it! I told you he was gay for his friend Ryo!” The reaction downstairs was hilarious to listen to. “I knew that boy was too pretty, of course Akira would fall in love with him.” Her mom commented with a laugh. “Well I mean, if he’s happy then so am I. I never knew he liked boys though.” Her father chimed in, she could practically hear his smile. “Wait! Akira is gay!? That’s so cool!” Taro exclaimed, he never knew a gay person before! “I called it! I called that he was gay! I knew it from day one, I’m just glad he’s not in denial anymore.” Miki shouted, more enthusiastic about it than Miko ever would have thought. And here she believed that the other was so in love with Akira that she would never, ever settle with her.

When Miki came back in, she flopped back down on the bed beside her, laughing and giggling. “Wow! I’m so proud of you Akira!” She shouted into the phone. Silence from the other end for a period before she replied. “Well don’t let me stop you from enjoying the presence of your ‘pretty little Ruu’. Go get ‘em tiger, and you better believe I’m going to be embarrassing you in front of your new boyfriend the next time you bring him around!” There was the muted shouting in the receiver, much to Miko’s humor. “No! Don’t you dare--! Akira!” The other end hung up and she just laughed. “He hung up on me! Asshole!” This was not the reaction she expected to see if Akira got with someone else.

Miki texted something to him, which took a few seconds, but then her phone was back on the bedside table, charging away. “So what did you want to tell me Miko?” She asked, such a happy mood evident on her face. Now feeling so much more confident, she was willing to just come out and say it. If Miki could be this supportive of Akira, than she was certain she would be supportive of her too. Even if she didn’t reciprocate the emotions, he knew that she’d be able to at least see her as a friend. 

“Well, Miki, you see the thing is… Is that… I love you… I’ve always loved you. Not as a friend, but as more. I’ve always wanted to be with you. I have been jealous of Akira for the longest time. I understand if you don’t reciprocate the emotion but… But I just wanted to let you know.” There was a painful silence between them, neither of them said anything. Miki’s face was filled with shock and slowly, steadily, her cheeks became more and more red. And yet… 

“I-I don’t know what to say Miko… I never knew.” She laughed softly, before sitting up. “I’ve never been with a girl before, but Akira once told me that you can’t knock anything until you try it so… If you want to try and be girlfriends we can. I mean, you are really really pretty after all.”

She could tell that Miki was awkward and didn’t know how to react to something like this. It was probably so different. Miko wrapped her arms around the younger and embraced her tightly. “God you’re so cute.” She couldn’t help but saying, squeezing her to her chest. “Thank you so much. I don’t know how this will turn out, but so long as we can be friends regardless, than I’ll be happy.” Miki returned the embrace, even if she could hardly breathe. In the end she could understand the concern.

“I wouldn’t want anything else… I don’t think I’d want to not be friends with you. Let’s both try our best, okay?” It wasn’t the most romantic way that a couple has gotten together, but one could suppose a confession was the way to start. To say that Miki didn’t feel anything romantic towards Miko at the start was an understatement. But over the course of the day, she started noticing things that she did love about her. As the storm wore on and they spent more time together, she realized that Akira was right.

Perhaps you really can’t knock anything until you try it. There was a small bit of heartache from hearing that Akira got a boyfriend, but it was almost immediately healed by Miko’s kindness. She found that she was missing so much just from limiting her horizons. The fact she hasn’t been looking out more for options showed just how much she was limiting herself.

She was certain over the course of the next few months they’d grow to know each other more and more. They would grow closer and closer-- but nothing will change the fact that they are friends until the end. They weren’t just girlfriends but best friends. Perhaps that’s why Ryo and Akira are so close, because they were best friends first. Akira probably didn’t reciprocate Ryo’s feelings completely, or didn’t know that he did, and yet he sounded so happy over the phone. There was love there and she was certain that love would come to them if she just let herself open up.

In the end she realized that boys can love boys and girls can love girls just as well as a boy can love a girl or a girl can love a boy. There is truly no difference. To be quite frank, Miko already treated her better than any boy she’s ever been with. That was good enough by her means.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Miki did have a crush on Akira, but it seems she's willing to move on if it means she can be happier with someone else. Especially now knowing that her crush is with someone else.


	53. Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryo has a terrible nightmare which leads to a rather bittersweet reunion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akira Fudo has three forms post merge. He has his human form, which is the standard Akira, the one that he uses to blend into society and one that most people don't notice has changed. Then he has Devilman form, which is something of a middle ground between Akira and Amon. It is a form covered in fur and either Akira or Amon can be control of this form and manifest in such a way. Finally there is the demon form, a form that only Amon can access, which replicates Amon's true form. This form can be used to help them blend in with demons.

Ryo’s eyes shot open, a gasp of shock escaped him. He stared at the ceiling above him, trembling, and covered with sweat. It was just a nightmare… Just a bad dream… It felt awful to wake up in the middle of the night because he remembered something terrible. Whether it was something that occurred in his life as Satan or whether it occurred sometime in the past sixteen years, regardless he was terrified in a way. Rolling over onto his right side, he felt relief as he saw Akira laying there. He looked so peaceful, so blissful, as if nothing in the world could cause him pain or trouble.

Ryo curled up closer to him, snuggling up against his strong chest. Akira shifted to hold him close, wrapping his arms around the blond and squeezing him lightly. It was simply a reaction, but it was reassuring nonetheless. Despite this warmth and reassurance, however, the emotions for which were deep within the blond’s body began to bubble up. Tears began to cluster in his eyes as a sting in his nose became painfully apparent.

Gentle sobs escaped him, muffled by his own restraint and desire to not be heard. He didn’t want to wake Akira up, even though he definitely needed his comfort right now. In his eyes he’s been putting far too much upon the devilman. It just wasn’t fair. While it is true he has grown healthier since the Christmas that they’ve gotten together in, what with the year being well into March with April sneaking up fast, he still relied on Akira quite a bit. For example, while he could walk freely around the house, in public he was better off in the wheelchair that he was brought home with.

Due to the feeble strength he does have, he is not necessarily completely capable of pushing himself using his own two arms. As such, Akira oftentimes has to push him around still in the wheelchair for fear that if he moves on his feet, he will tire and then faint.

Considering this fact, it’s not surprising that Ryo feels as though he’s a burden to Akira. He loves him very much, and he knows Akira most likely reciprocates those feelings, but there is still a sense of overwhelming dread in the idea of him getting fed up and turning him away. Out of anyone in this world, it’s Akira that he doesn’t want to leave him. If anyone else left, he’d be completely content with that, but not him.

Gentle sobs began to escape the blond, the soft cries which shook his entire frame not showing any sign of stopping. He muffled and stifled them, hoping that they wouldn’t wake Akira, but the tears just wouldn’t stop. The nightmare terrified him and the gentle pain that resonated through him as a bad memory really didn’t help. He was so wrapped up in his own emotional turmoil that he didn’t even realize that Akira was beginning to stir beside him. Shifting beneath the covers.

A gentle moan came from the devilman causing Ryo to fall into deathly quiet. It was too late however, Akira’s eyes opened, soon meeting the blond’s. “Ryo?” He began, the situation beginning to register in his head. “Ruu… What’s wrong? What happened?” Being asked about his state only made him worse off. Sobs wracked his body and he began to openly weep.

Akira pulled him close, squeezing him gently and attempting to soothe him. He hated how much pain he was in. It wasn’t fair. “Ruu… please tell me what’s wrong…” He asked after a while of holding him, while he could just soothe him and try to be there for him, he also wanted to help. However he cannot help if the other doesn’t tell him. “It was just a nightmare-- it’s nothing.” Ryo tried to explain, even though he knew it wasn’t just a nightmare, it was him reliving his trauma. It was him re-experiencing all the awful things that have happened to him. It was him feeling his father’s hands upon him, it was him recalling his miscarried child, it was him remembering just how messed up everything was.

“No… It’s not nothing. It’s obviously more than nothing.” Akira told him, feeling his own eyes beginning to fog up with tears. “I know it hurts Ruu, but I’m here for you. I promise I won’t let you be hurt anymore. I’ll keep you safe. I promise I’ll protect you.” He tried to reassure, unsure of how much sense he was making or even if the older even was able to register it all. “Akira… The damage has already been done… You can’t protect me from something that’s already happened.” He tried to tell him, immediately regretting what he said, he didn’t want to shut the devilman down like that.

“I can try! I can try to protect you!” Akira tried to explain, tears clouding more so in his eyes. He hated seeing Ryo hurt like this, it just wasn’t fair. He didn’t deserve to be in so much pain. He didn’t deserve to be suffering in such a way. Why did he have to go through bad dreams? Why not him? Why wasn’t he hurting instead? The blond looked up to the younger, despite his own tears he reached his petite hands up and began to brush those tears away. “I’m sorry… please don’t cry…”

Akira’s expression soured just a bit before softening again. “Ruu, why are you apologizing. What did you do wrong? You didn’t do anything? You’re good. You’re not like the bad people in this world, you’re good.” Silence as the devilman returned the favor. He pulled Ryo closer to his face, kissing away those tears that ran down his pale and soft cheeks. Cheeks that Akira kissed so often.

Ryo felt his stomach tie up into tight knots, why did he have to say that. He wasn’t good, he knew he wasn’t good. He was the devil in every sense of the word, and while Akira didn’t know that, the cross around his neck showed that he’d agree just as much. He was a horrible person in his own eyes, that’s why he’s on Earth and not Terra… That’s why he was suffering this way, locked within an eternal punishment. If he wasn’t a bad person than why did fate dictate this?

“I’m not good Akira… I’m not a good person… You saw it at Sabbath, I killed those people.” He sat up, pulling away from his boyfriend and curling up on the bed. Ryo hugged himself, he wished he could conjure his wings and hide beneath the plumage of white feathers that he kept hidden away. “That doesn’t mean you’re a bad person -- you didn’t kill those people, yeah you hurt them, but what else are you supposed to do. You summoned the demons… It was for the best wasn’t it?” If only Akira knew that Ryo had the power to just call Amon to them without the ritual. What would the devilman do than? What would he think at that point? While it was true that he didn’t know he had such an ability, the fact of the matter was he essentially hurt all those people for nothing. He’s not a good person… But all the same, if Akira loved him, than was he really all that bad?

“Ryo, look at me.” He felt Akira take his hands, moving to sit before him, looking him directly in the eyes. “You’re soft and quiet. You’re smart and brave. You’ve been through so much. This world is filled with terrible people, you’ve seen the worst. But I know you’re not one of them. You wouldn’t have turned me into a Devilman if you were terrible. I know you don’t like people, and you’re more fond of demons at this point, I respect that… but at the same time, I know that you wouldn’t do anything to actually jeopardize humans. You may let demons do whatever they want, but I don’t think you’d actually genuinely kill anyone without reason. You’re not the type.”

The irony was painful, Ryo could practically taste the bile in his mouth. He bit his lip so harshly that he could taste the blood beginning to ooze out. Looking into those chocolate colored eyes, he could see more than just Akira looking back at him. He saw Amon, he saw his husband in there. The demon knew it was him, they knew that the other was more than aware. It was just a matter of timing. All the same though, did Ryo really want to trigger the apocalypse if it meant that Akira would hate him?

“I’m… going to go take a bath. I’m sorry.” He needed a breath, he needed to be able to take a second and gather his mind. Rising from the bed, Ryo kissed Akira, before walking to his private bathroom. The door closed behind him, but there was no sound of a lock. Akira knew what that meant. He did this whenever he was upset. Give him ten or so minutes to calm down and get himself in order, then join him. It was his way of saying ‘you can come in, just give me a second’. Their own unspoken language.

Ryo relaxed in the bathwater for a while, leaning against the wall of his large tub. He stared vacantly at the wall adjacent to him. In the end, he didn’t know what to say. How was he going to tell Akira who he was? How was he going to show him just what he was? He wasn’t human, he’s an angel, a fallen angel, the fallen angel. Ten minutes or so passed when his attention was caught. The door creaked open. The blond perked, expecting to see Akira enter, but what he was greeted with was someone completely different.

He has seen the devilman form of Akira so many times. A great fur covered creature with a general vague similarity to Amon in color variation. This was not that… This took it a step further. Other than height this version of the devilman was Amon in every way. The angel straightened, staring wide eyed. “A-Amon…?” He whispered, part of him growing emotional and the other dispelling grief he didn’t realize he was holding.

A part of him believed that the demon he was mated to was dead inside the human for which he possessed. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Amon and Akira are companions in a sort. They are best friends, and they will be until the end of time. That was the agreement for which they had. As such, in situations like these, a controlled and calm environment, Akira didn’t mind handing the spiritual control of their form over to the demon. Trusting his judgement and his care. Most of all, however, Akira knew of the odd fondness the demon held for Ryo.

“Satan… You’re just as beautiful as you were back then…” Amon began, his voice the same as it was back then, so different from Akira’s. As if just his voice was enough to prove his identity, Ryo’s hand went to his mouth. Tears of sadness were replaced with tears of pure joy. “Amon!” He cried, fighting to his feet, splashing water everywhere. He wasn’t frightened as the demon came rushing towards him, embracing him so tightly that he thought he would suffocate. His body was just as powerful, just as intimidating, just as comforting as it was back then.

“Even covered in the marks of humanity, you’re still the most beautiful thing in this universe… That cursed holy book for which those sky rats spread around is right about that. God’s most beautiful, and finest, angel.” Claws gently ran over the angel’s figure, they exchanged kisses and embraces. “It’s so strange to hear you speaking about my father… I’ve missed you so much.” Ryo began to settle back down into the tub, gradually coercing Amon to join him in the warm water.

The tub was big enough for the two of them, as such the demon had no problem doing as such. After all, they used to bath in the hot springs together. This wasn’t all too different other than the lack of medicinal properties for which the hot springs innately had. “It’s so good to see you awake again, Lucifer. I thought I’d never see you again, that you wouldn’t ever call upon me. Although I must say, I do not appreciate the short hair.” The demon pulled the blond closer to him, cradling him. 

“There’s not much I could do about it up until now. I can start growing it out if you’d like… But I’m afraid that won’t give us much time. Revelations will be coming soon. I have no choice but to trigger the end of days if I have any desire to get us out of this mess…” Ryo frowned, his gaze traveling away from the demon’s, only to be guided back by a clawed hand. 

“We all trust you, Lucifer. More importantly, I trust you. Remember what you told me, what you told everyone?” Amon asked him, to which the angel just tilted his head in confusion. “This is just another end to a chapter. There are so many chapters for us, for you. And so long as you can live on, than I’ve done my job as your mate.” He placed a set of kisses upon the burn scarring that was all over the blond’s left side. All from how his house burned down.

“For now, let’s just spend as much time as we have together. The rest of the night is our’s.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the low quality of this chapter -- for some reason this chapter was excruciatingly hard to write? I really don't know why. I promise that the next chapter will be much more satisfying, hopefully. The next chapter will be published (hopefully) later today, since I am a chapter behind on my Halloween event.


	54. Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Ryo's birthday, something that he is overly anxious about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder; Ryo's celebrated birthday is on April 1st, as it's his adoption day. However the actual day he was born into the world as Ryo Asuka is April 14th. It is also the year 2017. (I did indeed look up star charts in Japan on the day of April 1st, 2017.)

Warmth, just pure warmth. There was pain in his stomach and between his legs, but he didn’t mind it, not when he knew that the individual holding him from behind was Akira. Someone he loved more than anything else in the world, someone he would die for without hesitation, someone he hoped never to loose. It was so strange doing such things at the Makimura household instead of his own. His phone buzzed, he reached for it, not wanting to move for he didn’t want the kisses Akira was placing upon his bare back and shoulders to stop. He didn’t want him to cease.

Looking at his phone, it glowed faintly in the darkness of the bedroom. 12:01 AM, April 1st, 2017. There was a message from his cell phone that read ‘Happy 17th Birthday!’. He let out a sigh and pressed the sleep button, putting it back on Akira’s nightstand beside the devilman’s own phone. “Who was it?” The taller lazily asked, pulling the blond closer, his one arm wrapping around Ryo’s stomach. “Nobody… Just my phone reminding me of something I have to do today.” He murmured, Akira raised a brow and looked to the clock on the far wall, pushing himself up onto his elbow in the process. “Reminding you at midnight?” He asked, to which the blond simply nodded.

Akira stuck his head up indignantly before he continued a mischievous grin on his face. “I’ll trust you this time Ruu, but you better not be cheating on me!” He exclaimed, grabbing hold of the older and beginning to assault him with a myriad of kisses all over his face. “S-Stop it Akira!” Ryo cried out, laughing all the while. “You’re going to make me want to go for a round three if you keep this up!” He added with a laugh, despite his words the grin he had and the smile on his face showed just how happy he was with being played with in such a way.

“Well then let’s have a third round than! Nothing wrong with that, I’d say! Wasn’t it you who published a whole research paper on the psychological benefits of sex and why it was so prolific in ancient history?” Silence fell between them before Ryo began to laugh. Akira’s face lit up a bright scarlet, worried he said something wrong and embarrassed himself. The devilman watched as the older giggled and laughed about something unknown to him. “I didn’t know you read my research papers, Akira! That’s so cute!” And with that the blond was upon him, the start of another long handful of hours of rough fun that continued late into the night.

The hour of four in the morning came and Ryo found himself laying upon the cool sheets, Akira fast asleep beside him. A sick feeling came into him, a creeping rot that filled his stomach. It wouldn’t let him go. His birthday was here, a cursed day in his mind… He hated the idea that something like this would be here already. A part of him was glad that Akira seemed none the wiser, he was never good at dates, but all the same there was always that fear he’d remember the day the devil was adopted.

Rising from the bed, he gave Akira a gentle peck on the cheek careful not to stir him, before grabbing one of the devilman’s oversized shirts. He pulled it over himself to hide his figure. Stepping out onto the younger’s balcony, he stood in the cool night air. He didn’t need sleep now that he was awake, although soon he knew he’d find himself growing tired. The wind brushed passed him, blowing his short hair in the wind. Looking up into the sky, he saw that the moon was beginning to disappear as dawn was approaching.

A star rest so high in the sky. Immediately he recognized it as a wave of nostalgia came over him. That was Venus, that was his ‘star’, the star he was associated with, the morning star. He found it so funny that Venus was called something like that. It was a planet, and yet people thought of it as the morning star.

Once upon a time people believed it to be the most important star. Now it’s all the North Star… He reached out to the plant that was on Akira’s balcony. Pulling out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, he always brought them over and hid them there when Akira wasn’t looking. He knew that the devilman hated when he smoked, but there were moments like these were he’d get so stressful that he couldn’t help himself. Sticking one between his teeth, he lit it taking a puff before exhaling into the sky.

The wind carried the ashes and the smoke far away, dispelling any suspicion Akira may have of him. He wouldn’t know anything of his smoking or anything of his anxiety. That is, he would have gotten away with that if he didn’t hear the balcony on the lower level open. His attention perked as he looked down. Miki stepped out, giggling happily. She was wearing a long nightgown, leaning back against the railing the two of them locked eyes.

Frozen they stood, eyes locked, and immediately they understood. Ryo’s face turned bright red, as did Miki’s. There was only one reason why the two of them would be dressed the way they were. Pulling a ladder out, Miki set it up to climb up to the upper balcony, joining Ryo up there. “Hey, I didn’t know you smoke.” The brunette began, a hum on her lips. “I don’t… normally. I’m just stressed.”

Ryo tried not to give her much mind, until he saw her pull out her own cigarette from her bra. “Please, my girlfriend isn’t too fond of me smoking either. Got a light?” Bound by politeness, the blond lit his lighter and held it out to her. The two of them stood on the balcony of Akira’s room, puffing on their cigarettes. “She thinks it’s unlady-like to smoke.” Ryo looked over to her confused. “My girlfriend, I mean.” Miki added.

“Akira doesn’t like it when I smoke either… His parents were doctors, I’m sure you know that, and they always warned him against it.” Ryo flicked a few of his ashes off the balcony, allowing for the wind to carry it away. 

“Well they’re right. So considering that fact, why do you smoke?” Miki asked, her gaze traveling up to where he’s looking in the sky. He didn’t give an answer, so she pressed on elsewhere. “Whatcha lookin’ at?” She inquired, to which he simply responded, “The morning star… Venus… Lucifer’s star. It’s rather beautiful isn’t it?” Her gaze followed his and she saw the bright orange speck in the sky. Yes, she had to admit, it was rather beautiful, especially suspended in the April sky.

“Funny… Lucifer’s star is the morning star. Such a beautiful star belonging to someone so hideous.” She shook her head. “What do you mean by hideous? He was God’s most beautiful angel. The one he was most proud of.” Ryo corrected her, not letting her comment get to him. In the end he couldn’t blame her, who really did know who he was? “You’re religious?” Miki simply inquired, her green eyes wide and shocked. “Not necessarily… My mother was catholic… For the longest time I went to a catholic school… I hated that place.”

The brunette frowned, she didn’t quite like that thought, but supposed she understood. Her family was catholic and she wasn’t too fond of how they viewed the bible. Having read it, she found that a lot of what they said wasn’t innately stated -- it was all blind assumption. She could see where Ryo was coming from. “Hey Ryo… Can you stay right here for a bit?” Miki spoke after a moment, smothering her now fully burned out cigarette on the ledge of the balcony, throwing the remnant far away.

Before he got a chance to answer, Miki was off, retreating deep into the house. He watched her before sighing. If she didn’t come back in ten minutes he’d be back inside. Ryo took another drag of his cigarette, staring back out into the night sky. What terrors would today bring. He didn’t expect the girl to come back, but in the end she did. In fact she came back sooner than he expected.

“Here.” She stated, holding out a small box. He looked at it, it was no larger than a ring box. “What is it?” He asked, blinking his brilliant blues. “Well you can’t find out if you don’t open it.” Carefully Ryo took the box, the obvious suspicion on his face. Carefully he began to untie the bow upon it, letting it fall to the ground, before opening the box itself. Shock covered his expression.

Beautiful earrings were inside. They had a feathery aesthetic to them, sparkling white and long. Not long enough to be annoying, but long enough to be noticable. “Happy birthday, Ryo. How old are you now? 17?” She asked him, to which he nodded, pulling out the earrings. “Akira told me and Miko that you liked jewelry, it’s nothing much, but I figured you’d appreciate it.” He inspected the object before smiling up to her.

“Thank you, Miki. I do appreciate it.” He set the box down onto the ledge, beginning to undo his previous earrings. He looked at them, studying the simple balls, before tossing them off into the void of the neighborhood. Miki was shocked, but in the end didn’t question it. She knew that Ryo had bad memories, perhaps those earrings were part of that. She then watched as he put those beautiful feather earrings on. They looked so good on him, partly eclipsed by his blond hair.

“Absolutely stunning!” Miki spoke, ecstatic at the result. “I hope you have a wonderful birthday, Ryo… I’m going to head to bed, I got a lady waiting for me.” She began to make her way back to the ladder. “Hey Miki…?” She stopped, staring up at him, that friendly smile still present on her face. “How did you know it was my birthday?” He asked curiously. “Oh please… you think you could date Akira Fudo without him knowing literally everything about you that’s important? This boy is the king of birthdays… You’ll see what I mean later.” With that she winked and then was gone.

Perplexed Ryo just stood there watching as the ladder was put away.

After a moment he hid his cigarette and lighter back in the plant for which he had put it originally before returning to the bedroom. It was time for sleep. Taking his spot next to Akira again, he let him snuggle up close to him before drifting off to sleep. This had adverse side effects however, by the time he closed his eyes and fell asleep the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon as six in the morning came around.

Ryo didn’t notice as Akira got out of bed. He didn’t notice the lovely scent of breakfast coming from downstairs. He didn’t notice as people came and went from the room. He didn’t awaken, not until he was forced to. Ryo’s breath was knocked out of him as he felt something fall onto him.

He let out a cough, sitting up abruptly to find-- “Taro! Be careful!” Miki exclaimed, frowning. “I’m sorry, oneesan. I slipped.” He apologized, to which the brunette simply shook her head. “Well? What do you say to him?” She asked, pointing to Ryo. The answer that was given was not what was expected. “Happy birthday, Ryo!” Taro shouted at the top of his lungs, much to the blond’s discomfort. “Not what I meant!”

“I’m sorry about that Ryo… Glad it worked out though, because it’s time for you to get up. It’s noon now. There’s a surprise for you downstairs, so get dressed and come down quickly.” Miki spoke with a hum, grabbing her little brother’s hand and beginning to guide him away. The boy complained and whined, but in the end the blond was left in peace. He stared after them, unsure of what to say or do really. Did that even really just happen? Ryo shifted in the bed to feel something fuzzy next to him.

Pulling the blanket up, he was shocked to find Tako there, curled up beside him. He really was not used to this. Getting up from the bed, he locked the bedroom door, before beginning to strip down and get dressed. Akira’s shirt was warm and nice, but all the same he wanted to wear something more fitting for the occasion.

Concern filled him as he got dressed, stepping out of the bedroom and beginning to descend the steps. Nerves filled him, he was terrified. He didn’t even know why. Nothing should have been wrong. Nothing should be happening. He should be happy regardless of what’s going on and yet he felt terror fill him.

When he finally stepped off the final step, he was shocked into silence as he felt arms wrap around him. Akira was there, holding him so tightly, he felt like he was suffocating. After a moment he realized what was happening. There were so many people here… So many people that he knew. Akira, Miki, Miko, Jenny, the Makimuras, so on so forth. Decorations were everywhere. 

“Surprise!” Everyone shouted together, followed by a “Happy birthday, Ruu!” from Akira, all the while Ryo was in startled silence. He felt tears begin to sting his eyes as Mr Makimura began to explain. “Akira told us about what happened to your parents and how you haven’t had a birthday celebration in a really long time so when he suggested we do this we thought it was a good idea.” His wife chimed in with, “You’ve helped us out so much too, Ryo. It was the least we could do.”

Ryo returned the hold on Akira, feeling himself beginning to cry audibly. He buried his face in the taller’s shoulder, hiding away from everyone. “Thank you…” He whispered, much to Akira’s joy. He supposed he was frightened for nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akira knew Ryo's birthday from the beginning and now that he had Ryo with him for his birthday he was going to celebrate it. It's also worth noting that Akira's birthday is only a few weeks after Ryo's.


	55. Tidal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A trip to the beach goes wrong as a beast appears -- the apocalypse may be beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How a heavenly beast came to be on Earth will be explained later -- there is more to this than meets the eye. Demons aren't the only monsters that are on Earth.

“Ryo, why are you hiding away like that?” Akira asked, tilting his head curiously. “I get sunburnt easy…” The blond answered with a sigh. “Can’t you put on sunblock?” The devilman’s confusion was cute, but not cute enough to complete ebb away the annoyance in Ryo’s eyes. “Akira, do you see how fair I am. I look like a vampire in all senses of the word. The less melanin in someone’s skin, the easier they burn, and to be quite frank I don’t have a lot of that really at all…”

Akira looked down at his own arms, he had darker skin than Ryo, only by a shade or two. He was by no means extremely fair skinned, he had a natural tan because he loved being active and out. Looking back to his boyfriend he could definitely see the difference. “Well still, you should come and at least swim with us. Isn’t it healthy to get a little bit of sun?” Ryo thought about it for a moment before he sighed. “Alright, fine. I’ll come out later if that’s what you want.” Akira grinned, jumping forward and hugging his boyfriend tightly. “Thank you Ruu!”

After a moment or two, Ryo watched as Akira went out towards the tide. Miki and Miko were there, ready to wade in the water and play in the waves. As he watched them he couldn’t help but reflect on the passage of time… It’s been so long since Christmas, the love he held for Akira was only getting stronger. There was no fizzling and there was no fading… They were happily together.

All the same so many other things have happened. He thought back to his birthday celebration. How it was a surprise that Akira planned out with the Makimuras. How he had strawberry shortcake for the first time. He didn’t get a lot, but that’s not what mattered, what mattered was that this was the first time he was celebrated at all.

At least celebrated by those he cared about. He was celebrated as one of the smartest people in the world, but that only went so far. His parents were proud but in the end he’d go home and just--

Immediately he caught that thought. No, he wouldn’t let the trauma come back. He was different now. They were dead and that’s all that mattered. He was the devil, not Ryo. He was only Ryo Asuka because Akira was here. He wanted to make Akira happy -- and he still loved the devilman. How was he going to tell him? How was he going to explain to him that he was really the fallen angel Lucifer?

Leaning back in his chair he let his mind continue to drift off. Was it really all that surprising that it traveled to far away places. A daydream of a new world with him and Akira. The human was still merged with Amon, so he was present as well. A beautiful garden of Eden of their own creation. A small child was begging to be held, Lucifer was happy to oblige. The image of a child made his stomach churn as he felt tears cloud his eyes. It’s been billions of years and yet he’s still grieving.

A scream snapped him out of his stupor. He sat up abruptly, staring out into the tide. A demon had appeared and was attacking. Broad daylight? Truly what a foolish thing to do. The serpent creature was massive and foreign, someone that was foreign to Lucifer. He rose to his feet and threw off his towel revealing his one piece bathing suit. One that covered his legs to his mid thigh but had barely any sleeves. He hated having so much skin exposed but in the end it was required.

The people on the sand scattered and ran, screaming. Some stayed behind to film, but that was no good either. He took a whiff of the air and found that wasn’t a demon. That was a holy beast. “Akira! Don’t fight it!” Ryo shouted running up to his best friend and grabbing his hand. Miko was already running with Miki up the beach. 

“Ryo, I know you sympathize with the demons but we can’t let it kill all those innocent people!” Akira shouted back at him. “But that’s not a demon! Amon is probably telling you as well! That’s not a demon!” Lucifer didn’t know how a Holy Beast from heaven came here, he bet it had something to do with Michael, but regardless he didn’t want Akira getting involved. The Holy Beast are a completely different ball-game, they were so much worse than the standard demon, especially if one doesn’t know how to handle them properly. Akira is most certainly one of those people.

Suddenly the screams grew louder as their attention was snatched. A cry game from the crowd as Miki was snatched by the monster. She wriggled in its grasp, panting and gasping in panic. It was so hard to breathe, so difficult to get even a shriek out. Before Akira could even have time to react, Miko was in action. Right before the crowd, and to their horror, she shifted forms from a human to the spider demon she was known to be. In that moment, panic broke out.

_ ‘63 people killed in monster attack -- state of emergency declared.’ _ Ryo sighed as he folded the newspaper and buried his face in his hands. Akira’s identity was safe, but now his plan will have to go through. Humans were already in panic at the knowledge that a creature like that existed, but even more so they were in a panic that a human was part of it. He could recall after everything happened, after the beast was killed through Miko’s ability to repeatedly shock it, somebody silenced her for good.

It didn’t matter that she saved someone… she was a monster in of herself. As such she was executed on the spot. “Mr Asuka, you’re going live in five.” Ryo nodded, letting out a sigh. Why was there a holy beast at the beach? Why didn’t they all just run when they had the chance? This could’ve been avoided for at least another half a year. But now that everyone knows about demons… 

“Today is a dark day for everyone… A terrible and horrible day. It seems that we have been thrown into a war without our knowledge. I haven’t released this information to the public because I felt that it was largely unnecessary and that it would only insight panic. However, in light of the recent tragedies, I realize I was only a fool. Humanity needs to know in order to better protect themselves from the dangers of these creatures.” Ryo cast a glance to the demon who was filming him. They had already penetrated much of the influential people in the world without his knowledge. They were already anticipating this war to come, even if it wasn’t in this way.

“In this world there are creatures called demons. I have been studying them for a long time. They are beasts that I thought went extinct during the meteor strike that ended the dinosaurs… I was wrong. They’ve come back and they aren’t happy about this world being populated by humans. These monsters are creatures that will come into the world and randomly merge with you, they will try to possess your body in any way that they can, and worst of all if they succeed nobody but you would know it. They are terrible and awful creatures… My father himself was possessed by one.”

Ryo paused for a second, wincing at his own mention of his father. How he set him on fire. How he was a demon even without the monster possessing him. He was the true beast of this world. “My father, however, recorded a lot of good research on demons when he was alive, all that research was passed down to me. Recently I have discovered his old experiment videos. We shall share them now.”

Akira turned off the television. He loved to watch Ryo whenever he was on, but at the same time this was too much. What was on the beach wasn’t a demon… The blond knew what it was but it seemed it was one of those things he could do little to talk about. Amon seemed confused about it too.

He leaned back and onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Miko was dead… He could hear Miki crying loudly downstairs. It wasn’t fair how things like this went. It wasn’t like Miko was hurting anyone and yet it was her that got shot in between the eyes, executed like a horse with a broken leg. Hearing her sob so loudly he felt his own heart ache. He empathized with her, and yet at the same time he couldn’t at all.

Out of all the demons he would have expected to see, Miko as a spider was not one of them. He wondered if she was truly in control or if the demon had just fallen in love with Miki and went with it. Whatever it was, he wasn’t sure.  _ ‘Hey Amon?’  _ Akira began, his thoughts detached and hazy.  _ ‘Yes Akira?’ _ Amon responded, his own words sounded distant as though he didn’t know what to say.

_ ‘Is Satan behind all of this? I know he’s your wife… but isn’t the devil evil?’ _ Akira asked, his voice trailing away as an image of the angel came to his head. So pretty, so elegant… so much like Ryo.  _ ‘The devil is evil by human standards because of the fact that angels make the bible. There is no other written works other than religious ones that depict Satan. Unless you count fiction that is. Remember history is decided by the victors. Isn’t that something Ryo taught you.’ _

Akira supposed that made sense, but even so… wasn’t Lucifer still evil? Didn't he do so many evil things? Yet the Satan that Amon remembers is someone completely different. There are no cloven hooves or horns, there are no tails or sharp teeth. It’s just an angel with too many beautiful wings to count, long blond hair, brilliant blue eyes, and a plumage of feathers that looks so soft that he wondered just how relaxing it’d be to feel them brush up against one’s body. Akira let himself get lost in thought for a long while, daydreaming through Amon’s memories. Memories that the demon was more than happy to supply to him… Higher likelihood they will survive.

‘Why is he so beautiful? I thought the devil was supposed to be this ugly creature.’ Akira inquired, not even really paying attention to the fact that he asked a question at all.  _ ‘Well isn’t Lucifer supposed to be God’s most beautiful angel? In your books that’s why he fell… To be honest he truly is the most beautiful thing in this universe I would think. If you saw him in person you’d be head over heels -- I know it.’  _ But he has seen him in person, and Amon knew Akira was madly in love.

_ ‘What do we do now Amon? What do we do now that the world is going to start falling apart?’  _ Akira asked, closing his eyes and rolling onto his side. He allowed himself to curl up into a ball, so exhausted and lost in his own worry and anxiety that he felt perhaps a nap would be beneficial to everyone. _ ‘I don’t know, Akira… I suppose we just bide our time and hope it all works out for the best.’ _

The news broadcast ended, Ryo rose from where he stood. He was upset, the demons around him could tell. “Lord Satan… It’s so wonderful to have you back, we missed you so much.” The creatures told him, crowding about. Not enough to where he couldn’t walk away if he wanted to, but enough to make it feel somewhat crowded. “It has been a while hasn’t it… I don’t know how I feel about my own awakening.”

“What do you mean? You should be happy!” They exclaimed, attempting to soothe his woes. They could feel the stress he was put under, how this was not what he had originally planned. After everything he’s been through, they could understand why some hiccups would cause trouble in his mind and a sense of discomfort. “I feel as though this is not my home… Terra has changed so much, and to side with that, Amon merged with a human. Granted a human I love just as much as I love him, but a human nonetheless. Truly I wish for him to live with us in the new world but…” Ryo trailed off, his mind running on its own track.

They understood now. In this world the devil was not who he truly was. He wanted Akira to spend eternity with him, but how could he accomplish that if the devilman didn’t even want to look at him. It was an impossibility, one that undoubtedly would lead to some anxiety and fear within the angel. “We will make sure that everything works out.” Lucifer looked over, shocked to see Jenny standing there.

She no longer reflected the woman that he had grown up with, but now the fluffy demon that he knew from so long ago. “I promise you, Lord Satan, we will make this work. We will attempt to finally get out of this trap for which we have been put in. We just need your guidance, wisdom, and patience. We will return you as Queen of Terra and we will make sure Akira and Amon are by your side all the while.”

That did little to soothe him, but he did appreciate her words. “Thank you Jenny… Initiate Revelations, starting with the sacrificial merging.” And with that he departed, waiting for the chaos to begin all throughout the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ryo doesn't want to start revelations, he kind of just wants the days to tick by, however it seems like he has no choice. He is feeling upset due to a mixture of this lack of choice and due to the fact that he feels as though he's incapable of controlling it all.


	56. Kamikaze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The apocalypse truly begins, the end of days begins with demons merging erratically with humans to instill a fear within mankind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ryo is begrudgingly going through his plans for the end of days -- in reality he'd prefer not to. He is holding next to no real influence, at this point in time, to humanity's downfall other than placing a few pieces in the right places for the demons. He knows that regardless of what he does, humans will die off. There's nothing he can do to stop it.

_ “Mister Asuka, make sure you do not leave the armored vehicle, it isn’t safe…” The blond simply nodded as he climbed inside. How did it get like this? How did he wind up being the only ray of light for humanity? How foolish they were. His heart ached as he thought about Akira, head hung and eyes downcast. Things went downhill so fast… Little do these humans know what’s coming for them. Leaning back in his seat he let his mind wander, brain traveling far away, back in time to the beginning of it all. _

The clink of his teacup was soft, muted even. The cafe was so familiar, but all the same so different now. “Ryo… Why didn’t you explain devilmen? Why didn’t you explain the situation?” Akira asked him again, he didn’t want to answer the question for fear of becoming transparent. He knew he was a skilled liar, but the devilman knew how to read him like a book, as such it is growing increasingly more and more difficult to hide the fact that he is truly the devil.

“What was I supposed to tell them, Akira? You realize that not all devilmen are going to help humans right? Sometimes humans will lose to the demons, sometimes the humans will side with the demons, you know this. How do I explain something so simple when there are more important things I can bring up.” He looked up to the television, the emergency broadcasting system was still going. It’s been going for days. It’s been updated periodically, but other than that such an image has been stagnant.

Looking over to it he saw that four new countries have been added to the list of nations that they had lost complete contact with, most likely due to the demons. China, Russia, The United States, and Canada were the only countries now that remained seemingly unscathed… That they still had communication with. The final strongholds for humanity.

Of course, Ryo knew that it wouldn’t last for long, he would make sure that no humans remained after Revelations. ‘Warning; a state of emergency has been declared, mysterious creatures have been attacking after possessing the bodies of the living’. There was more text that cycled through, bull shit about how to stop demons from taking over your body, but Ryo knew that to be bullshit. There was no way to stop them. They would merge with whoever they wanted, whenever they wanted… That’s the nature of this beginning part of the war. The war between humans and demons.

The droning beep was faint in the background… Nobody wanted to hear it anymore, but at the same time nobody wanted to stop the voice. They wanted to hear about everything that was going on. Though judging by how social media has been shutting down, it seems that something like that wouldn’t matter. The people who were dying, were dying too fast to record what was happening to them for the rest of the world to see.

“Look… I know you’re very upset, I can understand that, it makes sense. But at the same time there really was nothing I could do. Humans fear what they don’t understand.” Ryo sighed as he looked back to the devilman before him. Reaching out he took the younger’s hand and held it in his own. “Than make them understand, Ryo. You’re smart, intelligent, powerful… I can handle being hunted, but there are other people who merged with demons that won’t keep them alive during this. They’re going to be killed like-- like--” He couldn’t figure out what he wanted to say, his brain was getting scrambled in his head like some bizarre milkshake.

“The witch trials? They’ll be hunted and killed just like the people in the witch trials?” Ryo meant the Salem witch trials, but he wasn’t sure if Akira actually knew much about that. He understood the concept however, and simply nodded his head. Quiet fell between them before the blond sighed and continued.

“Let me ask you something Akira, just to prove my point. If I told you I was Satan, that everything about this war was my fault that I orchestrated it, would you be mad at me? Knowing full well what I’ve been through, would you be angry with me? Be honest.” Silence fell between them, not a word was said. The devilman didn’t know what to say. “Yes… I would be angry with you. Just because people hurt you doesn’t mean that you should kill them all.” He responded, a frown on his features. “Exactly! That’s my point! You may say things like ‘I’ll listen to you and try to understand’ but in the end you’re an exception. Humanity is not like you. Humanity will persecute you because look at what others of your kind are already doing. That’s all they view you as… ‘part of their kind’. There is nothing that will change that image.”

Akira knew in part of him that Ryo was right, but of course he truly believed in the good of humanity. He felt that perhaps there was still a shred of hope. Was it not humanity that bonded together in moments of tragedy. They’d surely accept him, wouldn’t they? A scream interrupted his train of thoughts. In a world like this, of course it would. It always had to be a scream.

Jumping up from their seats, the duo watched as demons made their first appearance in the country. Bodies began to shift as shrieks of agony ensued. They attacked other humans, killing as many as they could, before succumbing to their own botched merging. “Run!” They practically chanted in a hellish chorus. Ryo bolted, Akira in toe, they couldn’t let anyone know of the devilman’s secret, they couldn’t let anyone see him transform, they were effectively useless in this situation.

“Akira, go home, take care of your family.” Ryo shouted to him, in the end he didn’t care about Miki, but he wanted Akira to believe he did. Mostly because he knew that she would have to die to.

“What about you Ryo?” He asked, grabbing hold of his arm so they wouldn’t be seperated in the mob of people. “I’ll be around, I promise. Apparently I’m the only person able to guide humanity out of this mess.” The blond smiled, how ironic. He pulled himself closer to Akira, leaving a kiss upon his lips, before disappearing into the crowd. The mob of people continued to rush and the duo was almost trampled a number of times, but somehow they managed to make it.

Akira was quick to make his way home, out of the thick shopping district of the city and into the quiet and quaint residential areas. It was quiet here. It was peaceful here. No demons wanted to attack this place because of the fact that cities were so much more densely populated. Somehow he knew that eventually they would, but for now they were safe. Somehow in his heart he knew that there were far more demons than there were humans, and if there weren’t, than they’d just keep coming back.

_ ‘...if I told you I was Satan--’ _ Why did Ryo say that, why that specific phrase in particular. Satan. The image flashed back into his head from Amon’s memories. Beautiful, stunning, absolutely gorgeous. There was something to him that was so magnificent that he couldn’t even begin to comprehend. _ ‘He is God's most beautiful angel.’  _ Amon reminded him gently, he sounded awfully calm. Akira figured he knew why. Part of him felt that the demon knew about this and while he wasn’t particularly helping out the demon army, he wasn’t against them having control.

_ ‘Why are you so calm about this, Amon?’  _ Akira asked as he entered the house.  _ ‘Simple, I don’t care.’ _ Amon replied simply, his tone infuriating the human boy.  _ ‘What do you mean you don’t care!? Countless innocent humans are losing their lives!’  _ Rage was bubbling up inside of him, so much so that by the time he got up to his bedroom, his face was red as his blood. 

_ ‘No human is innocent -- just like no demon is innocent. I choose to side with the demons because that is the species I know came first and I know their motives. This planet is our territory, if you knew what happened you’d understand, but I don’t think your mind could truly comprehend it all. Regardless, I merged with you for his sake, our deal was that so long as I gave you my power you would not go against my mate, Lucifer. If you cannot keep up your end of the bargain than I see no need to help you any longer.’  _ There was silence between the two of them.

_ ‘Fine… Feel whatever you like. I still think you’re wrong though. Humans aren’t all that bad, Amon. You and Ryo are so alike in that belief.’ _ He wondered if there was a reason for that, he wondered if Ryo was somehow truly tied to Lucifer.  _ ‘Maybe it’s just because we are both smart enough to spot the logical fallacy for which you are committing by getting overly emotionally attached.’ _ Akira didn’t believe that, but all the same there was nothing he could really do about it.

_ ‘...if I told you I was Satan--’ _ The words kept repeating in his head. They couldn’t be the same… Ryo was human, he knew he was human. There was no way that they were the same person. Yet at the same time, they looked so similar. Closing his eyes he tried to picture them together before Amon dismissed the idea.  _ ‘If you keep thinking on it than you’ll never figure it out. Don’t worry -- if it was important for you to know who he was, than you would know.’  _ He supposed he was right, best to just let things happen. What could he do based off of speculation alone?

“Lord Satan?” Ryo looked over his shoulder to see a demon there, they were a creepy fellow, but the blond didn’t mind. He still loved how demons appeared, to him it was beautiful and adorable. Absolutely perfect in its own right. “Yes? What is it?” He responded, taking a drag on his cigarette.

“Your plan is working perfectly, my Queen. The humans are beginning to hunt about. Anyone who they believe isn’t fitting in with their morals is beginning to be executed. Soon this mania will spread to Japan as well. The Earth’s population is already down by forty percent.” All in one month… New record. How lovely. Ryo didn’t say anything and for a while the demon believed him to be disappointed until he spoke again. “Thank you so much… I appreciate it.”

He put out his cigarette and rose to face the demon fully. “Keep merging until the end of the month. We need humans to be as antagonistic as possible. Then as the month comes to an end, start dwindling how many merge. The gradual shift will make them retain their spiteful and hateful disposition on their own kind. Have you infiltrated the other countries yet?” He inquired, taking a sip of his wine from a glass.

“We managed to get into every country but Russia. The cold temperatures and unpredictable people are making it rather difficult, however we have found a solution and so far we have one successful attack done. Soon even they will fall.” Ryo swished the wine in his mouth before swallowing “Thank you… You’re dismissed.” With that the demon departed and Satan was left to his own devices.

_ ‘This isn’t right… This isn’t correct. This is the last time, I’m going to make it the last time, but all the same I feel like despite that this isn’t going to end well.’  _ A flash image of Akira’s corpse was accompanied by a terrible migraine. He clutched his head and let out a groan of pain.  _ ‘The hell? Is that what’s going to happen? Is Akira just going to die because of the fact I’m here? No! I won’t let that happen! I promised I would protect him and I’ll die before I fail.’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The emergency broadcast that is playing through this chapter is an edited version of Japan's ballistic missile broadcast. I figured that it would stand out the most and fit the best considering the threat. It was loud, droning, and the most disturbing one on the list that I could find.


	57. Purge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Humanity is beginning to spell their own doom -- death befalls all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No laws are being upheld, the government has practically collapsed, what little semblance of government there is, is slowly falling apart. The end of days is coming and soon Revelations will truly begin.

_ A heavy thunk snapped Ryo out of his daydream, he jolted upwards, eyes wide as he saw what had impacted the back window of the vehicle. A thin crack ran along it where the impact was. What he saw was nothing other than a decapitated head hurled so hard that it might as well have been a baseball. It’s head was smashed in, facial features scrunched and deformed, no doubt was the person who owned it writhing in agony from the afterlife. How terrible humanity was… He couldn’t help but remember when things began to go downhill for them… When humans began to execute each other. _

The end of the month came and went, so many devilmen were made in the merge, but there were also many demons who were in control of those poor mortal bodies. Ryo stood in his penthouse… How strange it was to have two houses in this town. A penthouse and a mansion. For this occurrence, the penthouse was much more suited. Here he could look out upon the city and watch as it falls apart. Leaning over the railing of his balcony he watched as the humans below engaged in a violent blood bath.

He took a sip of his wine, the bitter taste upon his tongue was like medicine for his stress, easing it and putting him in a state of calm -- to say he wasn’t tipsy was a lie. Nobody would notice the buzz in the back of his head, however… Now that he was awakened, he knew that the wine would never carry his brain further than this point. Such a shame, no longer could he get drunk… But that doesn’t mean his liver won’t suffer if he decides to drink his life away.

Jenny filled his now empty glass up once again, he turned to look at her before grinning. Holding the glass over the drop, a golden glow surrounded it. Withdrawing his hand it began to float in the air.

She watched as he waved his hand. The glass shattered, spilling wine down upon the people below like blood rain before the shards descended like dangerous projectiles. It penetrated a few people, killing them instantly. He watched as they dropped to the ground, lifeless and worthless scraps of meat. Ryo was only slightly disgusted when the cannibals descended upon them, devouring them. How long ago was it that food has run out in this place? Quite a while ago… Those who can’t cannibalize each other are just as dead as those being cannibalized.

“It only took a month for humanity to collapse into chaos…” Jenny commented, turning away from the sight and focusing upon her Queen. Ryo straightened, adjusting his suit jacket. He began to walk inside, heels clicking on the floor. He looked so much older now. Only seventeen and he appears as though he’s in his twenties all because of the white suit and golden heels he wore. “Of course, you think humans are the most moral of creatures? No… they’re selfish and disgusting. Bugs digging into Earth,  _ our _ Earth, and destroying it. Selfish insects that deserve nothing better than what they’re getting.”

Jenny followed him loyally, holding the bottle of wine close to her chest. She was almost nervous. The energy he radiated was different. He knew something was wrong, she wondered if he spotted the trend… If he had than that would explain it. The repeated death of Akira probably wouldn’t sit well with him. “Come on… Let’s go.” Ryo stated, waving his hand in a beckoning motion. “Where would you wish to go, my Lord?” She set the bottle down, closing the back door.

“A night on the town. Let’s see first hand just how terrible this place has become. Just how awful everything is.” Jenny didn’t know what to say, she simply nodded following behind him. They descended in the elevator, not a care in the world for what the dangers of this action were. A gentle ping as they arrived on the ground floor. 

Stepping out into the lobby, neither were really surprised at the destruction that took place. The place was ravaged, Ryo didn’t seem to mind as he stepped over the dead bodies. Not a single cannibal looked up from their meal either. They paid no mind to the two as they walked right on past. “I wonder what the adverse side effects to cannibalism at this scale is…” The blond mused out loud, a smirk upon his features. “Most individuals would be disgusted by this, Lord Satan.” Jenny pointed out, to which the devil simply laughed. “Well, it’s either eat or be eaten in this world… How lovely.”

Not a single soul noticed them as they walked down the street. People bumped them, but they still noticed nothing. They passed by an armed vehicle shooting innocent civilians, they fell to the ground, hot steaming piles of flesh with bullet holes in them. Ryo watched as people grabbed onto their ankles and began to pull them into the darkness. Undoubtedly to strip them and devour their meat. Hungry dogs just waiting for the next meal.

** _SPLAT!_ **

Ryo nearly jumped as he felt blood speckle his features. Looking up, he saw where the person jumped from, a frown spread across his features. Couldn’t they have waited just a little bit. A sigh as he waved his hand to clear the blood from off of his suit. How disgusting he found human blood to be at this point. Stepping over the body he continued to walk, not caring about the bloody footprints his golden heels left.

A scream, curious about the noise, the blond stopped and turned to look. Quite the show of a public execution was happening. He pulled his sunglasses out nonchalantly and placed them upon his face. He watched fellow man disembowel one of their own. “Demon! Demon! Kill the Demon!” They chanted over and over again. Jenny studied Satan’s expression only to find that it was still as stone. He didn’t care… Humans were dead to him. Not a single remnant of Ryo Asuka seemed to remain in him.

The city’s dense buildings thinned out, the herds of killers dissipated, the residential area was relatively peaceful by this point. Walking along the paved roads, Ryo seemed so distant. His eyes traveled to the roof of a building. A devilman was being butchered up there. One of their limbs fell to the street below. “The human should have just submitted…” He murmured, shaking his head, before continuing. It was humanity’s foolishness which was leading to entities like the devilmen being killed in such a manner.

Everyone was a demon in this world. Not a single person was innocent. It was like the red scare in America… The witch hunt in Salem… A blood bath just waiting to happen, he wondered how long it would take for all of Tokyo to become nothing but a wasteland. Ryo continued walking towards the Makimura Household. His movement was fluent, even if no eye could see him. His beauty and his power simply hidden. So confident was he, not a single soul wished to cause him harm because they didn’t even know he was there right behind them. Secretive devil as he was.

As he passed he brushed his fingers over one of the gates of a house. The wood sparked and lit, setting fire to the whole house. Not a single person would know it was him. However the chaos and violence of his heart towards this species truly revealed just how much he wished they did. Jenny watched this, her heart settled in her stomach, sickness prevailed in her mind. She didn’t like humans, but all the same she had never seen this level of hatred in the angel.

What happened to the pacifistic leader of the past? Was he that distressed in the moment? “Stay here Jenny, don’t worry no eye will settle upon you.” Ryo told her walking up to the gate of the Makimura house. She trusted him. He was true enough when it came to all of this. He wouldn’t let such harm fall to her this early in the game… As such she simply stood outside of the fence and watched as he approached the front door.

Gently he rapped upon the door, standing patiently before it. He pulled off his sunglasses as the door opened. “Ryo? What are you doing here?” Mr Makimura asked when he answered, gun in hand. He handed the weapon off to his wife, who rushed away with it. They trusted him, but they didn’t trust the rest of the world. “I came bearing gifts -- food. I know how tight it is. I have a garden at my house and I just harvested.” He waved his hand in a way that made it seem like he was gesturing for Jenny to come to him.

She looked down to find baskets filled with fruits and vegetables in her hands. Looking back up, she understood what he wanted. Beginning to make her way through the gate and up the walkway, she delivered the baskets to them. Apples, green beans, pears, oranges, tomatoes, lettuce, so on so forth. The Makimura’s eyes widened before they began to protest. “No no… we can’t possibly take this from you! Don’t you need food too!” Ryo simply shook his head.

“Please… I have way more than me and Jenny could ever eat. Please take it. You all need it much more than I do.” He explained, smiling softly. “Bless you, child. Truly, bless your heart.” Mrs Makimura told him, rushing the food inside. The words sickened Ryo just a bit, but he didn’t let it show. ‘Bless him’... How crude.

The fence creaked, he whirled around to see who it was. “Ruu… What’re you doing here?” He asked, a bloody sack over his shoulder. “I delivered some fruits and vegetables for you and your family… What do you have there?” Ryo felt like he knew what it was. The human shape within wasn’t hard to tell. He doubted that Akira killed it himself, but all the same the fact of the matter was that he was suffering too.

“Oh just a pig I got from the butcher. There’s not much food left…” A lie, but Ryo couldn’t blame him. He doubted nobody but Mr Makimura and Akria himself knew about the sin they were committing. A sin they need to commit in order to survive.

“I see… Well if you need any meat, just tell me. If you need any food at all, let me know. I’ll be able to get you something.” Ryo told him gently. Ever since this whole thing started, he felt as though Akira was so distant from him. He wondered if that was just in his head or if it was the truth. “Thanks, Ruu… be safe going home okay?” His heart broke in his chest as Akira began to go into the backyard. Of course he would just brush him off… Not even a kiss to mark the passage of time.

He hugged himself before nodding his head, having to withdraw to prevent any tears from forming in his eyes. His heart was shattering, but he supposed that he didn’t care. He got to see the devilman at all, considering that fact, he was willing to put up with it. If Akira hated him than he was content so long as he could just see his face every now and again. It’d tear him up inside, but his pain didn’t matter.

“Alright… I will, Akira.” On that note he let himself walk down the walkway, Jenny in toe. Mr Makimura watched out after him, picking up on the key signs of a heavy depression. There was something wrong here. He closed the door and went to go meet the boy in the backyard for their ritual of preparing dinner.

“Akira, are you on good terms with your boyfriend?” Mr Makimura asked as he cut open the body. He couldn’t help but wonder where Akira got the cadaver this time, and yet part of him didn’t really want to know. They were eating, that’s all that mattered. He put the organs in a bucket, ready to grind it up to make into food for Tako.

“Yeah, we’re fine. We just haven’t been talking lately.” Akira responded, a little half heartedly. He didn’t seem to notice the amount of pain he was causing Ryo by not responding to texts or by brushing him off as he had been. “Well, he doesn’t seem very happy as of late… he’s been helping us out a lot, and it seems like you’re just brushing him off. I was wondering if maybe you were angry with him.”

There was silence between them for a period as Mr Makimura continued to cut the body into thin slivers. The meat they were going to eat was going into a bloody bucket, the meat they weren’t going to eat were going to be ground up and given to Tako. This body should last them at least half a week -- something he was quite happy with. But that is only possible because Ryo gave them some of his own food.

It was disgusting business, what they were doing, but they were getting by. Akira helped the extraction of the organs, the liver, kidneys, stomach, lungs, so on so forth. Once that was all done he went to the bucket and began to grind it up using a large stone. Tako was seated on the back step, watching as they went through with this, eagerly awaiting his dinner. He quite liked the meat of humans it seemed.

When they were finally done, Akira was tasked with disposing of the stripped carcass. The process was easy, there was an alleyway nearby. He shoved the remains into the bag he carried them in to begin with, before heading towards the alley. He tossed the corpse into the dark abyss. Men who were much more depraved than him took the body and began to fight over it. Only a little more than dogs fighting over the scraps of a body. They ate the leftover meat raw… No doubt diseased by this point.

When he came back to the house, he went to go clean himself off in the shower, by the time he came back down Mr Makimura was already clean and they were cooking the food that was given to them. Tako was eating his freshly cooked kitty food, soon they would be able to have a nice dinner. Akira had long since grown used to eating human meat, Amon didn’t seem to mind all that much, but each time someone commented about how it was ‘strange but good’ he had to hold back his bile.

They didn’t know anything, and they wouldn’t know. They would be oblivious to the fact that the meat of their fellow man was being digested in their stomachs. 

It was macabre, but there was really no other meat left in the barren apocalyptic wasteland they found themselves in. Akira wondered what food Ryo was eating right now -- if he was eating at all. What Mr Makimura had told him really began to stuck. He was avoiding Ryo, but for what reason he didn’t know. It couldn’t just be because he was too busy because the fact of the matter is that he isn’t… 

Ryo made it home safely, the light of day was disappearing beneath the horizon. Leaning against the railing of his balcony, he let his back arch over it. His eyes stared up into the starry sky as he let his form feel like it was about to fall. He didn’t care anymore. For just a brief moment he wished for death. The image of the demons came back and he found that there would be no point in becoming just like that body that became nothing more than a pile of mush right before him.

“Lord Satan… What would you like us to start doing?” Jenny asked softly. Ryo thought about it for a while, his brain running through so much before reaching an answer. “Begin infiltrating the ranks of the most powerful. Continue to turn humans against each other. We need to start extermination. It’ll take a while to hunt and kill all the humans, but given enough time we will manage it… Don’t kill any devilmen however. Those are entities that will be killed on their own.”

She nodded her head, leaving his presence in silence. She worried for his sanity and his safety… She wondered what would happen this time when Akira dies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Tako has already merged with a demon -- that's why the meat of humans tastes so good to him and why he craves it. He would never kill a human, but if he's fed part of them, than he will eat it.


	58. Fallout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira and Ryo get into a heated argument, causing for quite the terrible consequences and for the worst events to unravel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akira and Ryo are both right in this chapter, however Ryo is a bit more so -- as even if he did reveal Akira to be the hero he is, even Ryo would be put under persecution. Showing humanity a straight look at what Akira Fudo truly is causes the least amount of damage, but seals their fates.

_ “Excuse me Mr Asuka--” Ryo snapped back to attention once again, his blue eyes wide with shock. He was startled back, finding himself once more in the armored vehicle with the cracked back window. “--what happened to you? You have a bandage on your nose?” He reached up with his dainty fingers and ran his hand over the gauze that held his nose in place. A sigh escaped him, yes he remembered -- it still stung to touch. “Oh this? I got into an argument with one of my friends… He didn’t agree with my thoughts and so he punched me… It was a small altercation… I’m not mad at him though, he had every reason to land such a blow.” The guard seemed shocked by this, a frown on his face. Ryo recalled that he began talking about how that was wrong, and how Ryo has been doing so much for the world, but he quickly began to tune that out. He didn’t quite believe it anyways… Instead his mind wandered back to the event that caused the current pulsing throb in his nose and in his cheeks. _

“Akira the humans are doomed… There’s nothing we can do about it.” How many times have they had this conversation, it felt like almost every single time they saw each other this is what they had to talk about. Akira wasn’t listening however-- he never did. “This can’t be the end -- humans aren’t doomed! We’ve lived through so much, there is no way that this one obstacle will kill us! Humans are a resilient species, we’ve always survived.” It hurt his heart to argue, but he knew that Akira’s stance wouldn’t change.

“You forgot to realize that humans have never faced off with demons before. Never before have humans faced off with creatures so formidable and so terrifying. You’ve witnessed them with your own eyes. You see one every time you look in the mirror!” His words were sharp like daggers, even if he didn’t mean for them to be.

Ryo felt horrible -- why was this how their relationship devolved to. He loved Akira, he would do everything for him, and yet now they were screaming like children on the playground. “But I’m not like the demons! I’m not violent, I’m not aggressive, I’m not trying to kill innocent people!” Akira protested. “Who is to say they are all innocent! Nobody is innocent, Akira! Every human is just as terrible as every demon! Survival of the fittest! Nature dictates that the strongest survive!” Silence fell between them, a drastic calm spread over the argument and with that Ryo began to elaborate.

“Natural selection is the process in which a species adapts to its surroundings over time. Due to the fact that only the best suited for their environment survive, and thus produce offspring, only the best traits will be passed on to the next generation. Weeding out the weaklings and nature to make room for the strong. This natural balance would then decide which organisms remain at the top of the food chain. Humans have remained out of check for too long, we’ve had no natural predators up until this point… Considering this fact, don’t you think it’s about time we just let go?” Ryo inquired, turning towards him, really nothing he said was wrong -- just to a human sympathizer like Akira he couldn’t help but argue against it… Something in his gut told him humans weren’t so bad.

“While that may be the case, humans have adapted to their environments -- we can still take down the demons!” Akira argued, to which Ryo simply raised a brow. “Elaborate.” The blond spoke. “Well… we have weapons, super advanced weapons, like nuclear bombs and machine guns!” He felt a bit discouraged when Ryo didn’t seem impressed, his expression remained cold and stony. “Don’t you know that demons have most likely infiltrated our society, the strong and powerful people most likely aren’t humans anymore, and if they are than they aren’t going to do anything. The humans that are powerful for whom remain are hidden deep underground, ready to just forsake the world.”

“Okay well then what about Devilmen! There are so many of my kind! We want to protect humans, we can protect humans, I mean that’s why we were formed right?” Akira added, this was honestly his last argument. He had nothing else to stand against Ryo with. He wished he did, but in the end he wasn’t as smart as the blond. He never faced the same pain he did, and as such he couldn’t truly make an argument like the other could. “The devilmen will never be accepted as humans, they don’t want your help Akira. Humans are much more likely to execute you than welcome you as a hero.”

“ **Bullshit!** ” Ryo jumped at Akira’s sudden outburst, he startled him. His cheeks were beginning to take on a reddish hue, one that always appeared when he got upset. “Humans would never do that! Humans are good! They haven’t turned me away yet!” The blond shook his head. “Of course they haven’t -- they don’t know. If they knew that you were a devilmen I bet they’ll try to kill you. I bet they’ll even try to kill the Makimuras despite the fact that they were just as oblivious as everyone else.”

Akira clenched his fist, he wanted to punch him so bad, he wanted to just strike Ryo’s pretty face and make it bleed. He felt Amon beginning to withdraw, but he didn’t care. He wanted to make him shut his mouth tight. “Don’t you dare say that… That’s not right at all…” He growled out, his voice low and demonic. “I’ll make a bet with you, I bet that humanity as soon as they find out will turn against you. I bet that they’ll come after your own fur and will massacre the Makimuras while they’re at it.”

“Shut the hell up, Ryo!” He punched down on the blond’s table, shattering it into a million pieces. Akira rose to his feet, grabbing onto the blond’s collar and pulling him up. Ryo choked a bit, but in the end didn’t struggle. “What would you know about humans? You’re just a kitten with a tail that’s been burned too many times. What would you possibly know about humans?”

He released the blond’s collar and let him drop onto the sofa, coughing and gasping for a moment. “Not like you’d be able to really prove it anyways… I’ll take your stupid fucking bet. I bet that if the world found out I was devilman, they’d accept me as their protector.” Ryo frowned, shaking his head. “Well I bet that if they found out they’d hunt you down like a dog! Akira you could live alongside the demons! Shed your humanity and be happy without the woes of mankind! Don’t you understand what a wonderful opportunity this is!? Don’t you get it!?”

Pain… He could feel that the power of Akira’s punch wasn’t Amon’s simply by the fact he was still conscious. Ryo collapsed onto the floor, blood dribbled from his nose as stars fluttered in front of his eyes for a moment. The blood stung, angelic blood was never good for the flesh of its owner. Despite the fact it was still bright red, the acidic properties remained. He trembled on the ground for a second, tears clouding in his eyelashes as his petite hand gingerly tried to plug up his now busted nose.

Looking up at the devilman towering over him, they made eye contact. In Ryo’s mind he deserved that… The pain that was delivered upon him was pain that he should be receiving as punishment for his transgressions. He believed that all the pain he was dealt was partly warranted but also incorrect. He got what he deserved, but he was also enraged by it. He believed he was being punished for something, and justly so, but what that something was is still beyond him.

“You can hit me again if you want… I kind of deserve it…” Ryo began, his heart shattering as he saw that angry expression drop off the devilman’s face. “I’ll still love you regardless…” He meant it. He didn’t realize just how terrible what he said was. What he was committing to. The idea of Akira beating him down, abusing him, treating him like nothing more than a punching bag didn’t seem wrong-- it seemed justified to him.

Part of him truly believed he deserved all the pain given to him by this point. Regardless of the poor treatment he’d still stay with Akira. He wouldn’t care… He loved Akira, even if the younger didn’t love him, he’d still take all the hatred he had in his body. He’d let him take it all out on him. That wasn’t a problem because Ryo loved him more than anything… If Akira asked him to die for him, he would do it without hesitation. That was his obsession.

Akira stood paralyzed over his best friend… The blood pouring from the smaller’s nose really did nothing to quell his anger, if anything it only turned the tables and made him loathe himself. “Ruu…” He whispered, his shoulder slumping, before he rushed out of the penthouse. The slamming of the front door echoing throughout the house. The gentle ding of the elevator before the soft squeaking of the mechanisms.

When the other was completely gone, Jenny approached. She hated the idea of her Lord just deciding to take the pain dished out to him. He didn’t deserve any of this and yet he was taking it as though he did. She bent down and began to wipe his face and hands clean of blood, trying not to comment on the hot tears that were coming from his eyes. “Did he break your nose, my lord?” She inquired softly, not really wanting to know the true answer for fear of his being ‘yes’.

“No… I don’t think so… It’s nothing that a bandage can’t fix with some time…” He’s experienced worse, but somehow the pain from this blow hurt more than any others. This wasn’t how everything was supposed to go. Akira was supposed to side with him. He was supposed to stand right by his side and now they were fighting all over again. This time, however, he would lay down and take any blow he gave to him. Eventually the devilman would grow tired, for in the end he would never be able to truly wound him. In the end he would never be able to take him down. Not with miracles on his side.

When Jenny finished bandaging up his nose, he rose to his feet and began to make his way back to his bedroom. He didn’t want anyone to see him cry, least of all Jenny. When he was behind closed doors he allowed for his body to sink to the ground against the door, sobbing all the while. It hurt so much, he found the pain to be overbearing. Somehow this sort of betrayal hurt him more than anything else in his life ever did.

He put his hand over his stomach, the ghost presence of a now deceased baby lingered. Not even that hurt him as bad as this. For a while he begged for Azrael to come for him, to stop his heart in his grief, but that wasn’t possible… In the end he decided to uphold his bet. If Akira truly believes that humanity is on his side than he will reveal him to be a devilman -- he will reveal what he is to the world and watch as they scramble to execute him like the with they will believe him to be.

Akira walked home with his hands shoved into his pockets. He didn’t like what he did, in fact he regretted it… He wondered if Ryo was speaking the truth when he said that he would take any blow because he believed he deserved it. Was he telling the truth there? He smiled at him… that leant to the belief that yes, he would take such pain if it meant that Akira would be happy with him.

He never wanted to hurt Ryo, but at the same time he truly felt the other was wrong. He couldn’t be right about humanity. He looked at his hand, Amon had withdrawn from him and he was glad he did. He wasn’t thinking straight. He wanted to go back and apologize but his pride wouldn’t let him. He wondered if this meant they were broken up or not… He wondered if now Ryo hated him… 

_ ‘I don’t think he’s physically capable of hating you, Akira.’ _ Amon suddenly chimed in, intruding on his thoughts. _ ‘And how would you know that -- I did punch him after all you know…’ _ Akira shot back, his words sharp.

_ ‘I know because he obsesses over you, he’s been in love with you since before I merged with you… Do you remember when he confessed to you, I’m sure you could feel the passion in him. Think of all the romantic times you’ve had, you should go back and apologize…’  _ Amon got no response however, he was left on nothing. Akira never turned back, the argument was settled then and there.

Akira loves Ryo, but at the moment, he hated him more than anyone else… 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akira doesn't truly hate Ryo, but in that moment he felt nothing other than anger for him. At the same time, however, he also felt terrible for doing what he did.


	59. Heaven's Army

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mysterious ball of light appears and envelops all of North America, killing all who come into contact with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The angels are unawares that Lucifer has learned to create a miracle -- if they knew than they most likely would not have attacked in such a way. The ball of light, for those who are curious, is essentially a place where Angels will teleport to due to the advancement of Heaven's technology.

_ “Did you hear about the light that’s forming over Canada?” Ryo’s attention was snatched back to the present, his heart beginning to sink in his chest. Yes… he remembered that. He remembered it too terribly well. A sickening feeling bloomed in his stomach as anxiety continued to manifest. He knew what they were doing… They were setting up a base of sorts and were just waiting for the world to end so they could state anew. He wasn’t going to let that happen this time, however. He wouldn’t let himself relive this awful mistake of a life ever again. _

_ “I did hear about it… It seems rather dangerous. Probably another attack from the demons.” Humans shouldn’t know that angels truly exist. They should let their blind faith determine their stance on it, not the actual proof. If humans knew that demons and angels both existed, than they’d learn that most of the things spoken about in their Bibles have some merit of truth. Something he doesn’t want. He wants them to collapse to hopelessness so that way he could win the war faster. _

The alarm from the television drew his attention from his cleaning. How long ago had he sent Jenny away to care for the army more than himself? It had to have been about a fortnight ago… After she saved him from the blade he held up to his wrist after the burning rejection Akira gave him. The scabs on his wrists were still there, but that wasn’t what mattered. He shut off the faucet and stepped into the doorway of his living room, standing there to tune into the emergency alert.

_ ‘WARNING: A giant ball of light has descended from the sky and has rapidly begun to envelop the Earth. The growth has slowed, however all flights to North America have been suspended -- a state of emergency for the planet has been called.’ _

Ball of light? Ryo tilted his head, wiping his hands upon his pink apron that he was wearing. Just to think a moment ago he was cleaning his dishes to put in the dishwasher… Daydreaming about one day being able to do the same but for Akira instead of himself. That thought was cut abruptly as he saw an image taken from the ISS come over the screen. His eyes widened, panic filled him as his dainty hand went up to his throat.

Every molecule in his body was telling him to scream, to just cry out and retreat back into the darkness. Yet all the same time he felt his throat close up in rage, his face twisting without his consent into an expression of utter contempt despite the fact that there was nobody here to see it. The memory of the entity who most likely was behind all of this, he dug his fingernails into his own throat. Black blood came forth and dripped down his neck and under the collar of his sweater, staining the white fabric and ugly black.

“I did everything right this time… Why is he fucking here!? The rat! The fucking rat! Leader of Heaven’s army -- fuck off!” He felt like he couldn’t form a coherent sentence, in a way he truly couldn’t. Everything was breaking apart in his mind. Everything was falling to the wayside. Rage bubbled up more and more within him, creating an ugly display in his heart. What would Akira do if he saw him like this?

He took a deep breath, lowering his hand from his neck. The fingertips were stained black, but that was nothing a little bit of water and some bandaging couldn’t fix. He stomped his foot, agitated and enraged at the current situation. This time he would not be so merciful with Michael or the angels for which came down to stop him. This time he was going to make sure he got out of this mess. He was going to make sure he could turn this world into his own personal garden of Eden -- it would be his world with Akira, a place where they could be happy together.

A sudden wave of calm fell over him, as though the stress all around him had settled. Looking up at the orb on the screen, he let out a sigh. It was almost like all energy he had to be enraged dissipated. Turning on his heel, he nearly jumped out of his skin to see Jenny standing before him. “I apologize, Lord Satan… You were extremely distressed so I took the liberty of slowing your vitals to force you into a state of calm.” She explained to him -- he didn’t really care. If anything he was grateful for her intrusion.

“We have experienced great losses because of this massive blow, lord Satan.” Jenny began as she watched Ryo untie his apron and hang it upon one of the hooks in the kitchen. “I’m aware… It’s sickening.” He still cared greatly about the demons, even if now he was just trying to look for a way out of his predicament. “I hate watching demons die and return to wherever they were before, but all the same I don’t think we could have ever truly predicted where they would attack this time… Of course they would attack, they always do.” He wanted to be enraged, he wanted for his voice to ring out like a bell, but he had no energy after that hypnotism spell Jenny placed upon him.

“What would you like our next course of action to be?” Jenny inquired, she felt she knew the answer. Of course Satan would not change his plans -- there was nothing he could do with this truly. “I’m not sure… I think we will have to just keep going as planned. Have the demons stopped sporadically merging and have we infiltrated the highest rankings of human society?” Ryo inquired turning to face the demon. She nodded her head softly, they had done those things and much more by this point.

“Don’t allow anyone else to merge unless they cannot control it, such as there is an event like Sabbath. Keep control over the higher ranking officials until I reveal how a devilman is made. Once that happens, begin to bring down humanity from those high positions. Is that understood?”

His voice frightened her just a little bit, despite the fact that he was trapped in a state of calm, she felt that he truly wanted to be aggressive and cruel. He wanted to snap and bite like the angel of his youth but he was unable to. In that bright light there was his past, in that brightness there was someone that he never wanted to see again. His tone was the reason she was so terrified to ask her next question.

“Lord Satan… Why are you revealing how a devilman is made? Do you truly want for humanity to attack Akira?” The glare he showed illustrated that her spell could only stop certain flare-ups of his rage. “If that’s the only thing that will make him realize how terrible humanity is than so be it. If I have to reveal to the world that he is a devilman to show him how not a single person but myself will accept him than that’s what I’m going to do… Even if it hurts me to do something like that…” 

Now that he thought about it, what would Akira do when humans turned their backs to him. What would he do when they finally decided to hunt him like the animal they believed him to be? The question was something he never truly pondered but now with the date of the report to go live, there was nothing he could do. The world needed to hear about the birth of devilmen anyways, was there anything truly wrong with what he was doing? What could the negative side effects be?

If he knew what would happen when he spoke those words, he would’ve cancelled the report then and there. If he knew how the Makimuras would die and how demons would challenge Akira than he would have shut his mouth and not allowed for something like this to come to pass. However, despite the amount of power he has in the moment, he still was a young angel. He didn’t quite realize he had the ability to glance into the future, even if he did what would he make of it. That part of the timeloops was simply a blur to him and in the end he was stuck in a state of ignorance.

Jenny, however, remembered all too clearly. She wanted to tell Ryo but felt that she wouldn’t be believed. In that moment his hatred for humanity, and his hatred for the angels, was blinding. He felt he was retaliating in the only way he knew how, by showing humanity’s only true weapon just how awful the things he’s fighting for truly is. In the end he would be left not realizing that by doing as such he’s turning the only person he’s ever loved against him as well… Telling him that he is not part of those humans only would ruin their relationship more. Tatters of cloth falling like snow all about them.

She listened to Ryo depart, stepping away to go busy himself with something else. She had nothing else to say, Jenny was silent. Her head was hung as the memories of how the past time loops ended came back. She wished she could take the angel into her arms and hold him there. She wished that she could pass her own wisdom onto him, but that just wasn’t possible. He needed to learn on his own, he needed to grow and experience the loss one more time… This was war after all.

“Children truly are difficult, wouldn’t you say.” She didn’t need to turn and look to see who it was. Uriel’s voice was something she had grown so familiar to by this point. “Funny of you to show up now, Angel of Time. Where is your sister?” Jenny inquired, rising to her feet, looking over to make eye contact with him. “She’s picking up all those souls once again, taking them to Purgatory for judgement… You know how this works by now I’m sure.” Indeed she did, she didn’t need for Uriel to explain it.

“I’m at a loss again, Uriel. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do about Lucifer. I’m supposed to be mothering him in this time of trouble, but I feel like I’m truly not getting anywhere with him… He’s just going to ruin everything again I’m afraid.” She sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. “I don’t think that’s the case… after all, he’s got miracles now doesn’t he?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer is both terrified and fascinated by the light, however he would never allow himself to get close to it simply because he knows that the person behind it is Michael. While he is aware that he can beat Michael down no problem, he still doesn't want to get involved.


	60. Exposure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryo tests Akira's belief by exposing his identity to all of humanity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The long monologue that Ryo has in this chapter is actually taken almost verbatim from the original Devilman manga. Since his speech, unlike previously, isn't the main focus of this chapter, I thought it would be nice to leave something mostly unchanged. (I patched up some grammar errors of course because there were a lot.)

The armored vehicle rocked back and forth as they began to pull onto the decaying road. His attention came back from the gleaming light and now returned fully to the moment. Reaching a hand out he let his fingers trace the crack that remained on the back window. What was he doing here? What was he doing being idolized by humanity as their only savior? What was he doing allowing himself to be hailed as something of their own key to a better life? It was wrong, he was lying to them, but he supposed since every single one of them are going to die it was just how it was going to be.

He could see his reflection in the window, he didn’t realize just how hollow and sorrowful he looked until that moment. The bandage on his nose as well as the scabs on his neck, it didn’t take away from his overall appearance but the fact of the matter was that he was not looking as well as he could be. “We’ve arrived! Secure Mr Asuka and make sure he gets inside safely!” They would, Ryo would be sure of it. As the door opened, he allowed for the soldiers to usher him outside. The air reeked of iron, smoke, and tear gas. A terrible trinity that he’d rather retreat away from.

The news station was dark inside, it was filled with a sickening musk of mildew and rot. How long ago was it since people had cleaned this place up outside of the studio. The news crew was already broadcasting, much to his shock. He figured he’d have to wait for them to get here, but it seems they’ve been set up since early morning. “We thank you all for tuning into this emergency broadcast.” This broadcast would be sent all over the world, but who really is around to witness it truly? So much of humanity has already died. Who is to know if anyone would actually tune in. From what he was aware of, they have lost complete contact with the Americas a massive loss in humanity’s numbers.

Europe is no better however… Their connection is spotty at best, but hey they were at least not being enveloped in a giant light. They had to at least have some survivors lurking about within the wasteland. Whoever those survivors were was none of his concern. Whether or not they heard his message didn’t matter, all that did was that the people of Japan heard it. Humanity needed to go so he could make his perfect Eden. He would make his utopia and break free of the torture placed upon him. To begin with his extermination he needed to reveal Akira’s true identity.

“Mr Asuka, you’re up.” He nodded his head, aware that the screens had gone to a standby screen. He stepped up, carefully walking to his seat. Sitting down before the cameras, it felt so strange. To have the lense focusing on him in this way was somewhat terrifying. He wondered what Akira would say about this, he was the one that challenged him and yet he is only stoking the fires of hatred for which the devilman held for him.  _ ‘Do you truly want for humanity to attack Akira?’  _ Jenny’s words came back to him.

He clutched the camera on his lap. Truly he didn’t want to tell the world. If he could keep the secret longer than he would, but at the same time it became obvious that he couldn’t go back. When he started this, he wasn’t thinking straight. When he told them he knew of a new threat to humanity, he wasn’t thinking right. He was filled with adrenaline and panic and now he had to face the consequences of his actions. Ryo had to hope that he could somehow make it up to him… He had to hope that somehow this wouldn’t turn out to become the worst possible scenario.

‘Akira… I’m trying to protect you from the dangers of humanity… They won’t love you how I’ll love you… They won’t protect you like how I’ll protect you… They’ll kill you just like they’ve killed each other… Please understand this… Please understand me…’ He repeated this in variation over and over in his head.

No matter how often he stated it, however, he found that he couldn’t believe it. He himself felt so foolish and stupid. How could he possibly convince Akira of the same thing if he didn’t believe it himself. While it was true, that was his intention, deep inside of him he knew that what he was doing was wrong… He was doing the wrong things for the right reasons. For a second he almost pushed his chair out from the desk and walked away, he almost did it, the courage was bubbling inside of him but--

“Alright we are on in five--” His heart dropped, terror flickered across his face as he lost all remaining color he had in his skin. If it weren’t for the makeup he wore than he’d undoubtedly look pale as a ghost. “Four--” The countdown continued, a timer to the end of his relationship with Akira. What was he supposed to do!? It was too late to walk away now! “Three--” He didn’t want to do it anymore. He felt a hand touch his own, looking over he saw that it was one of the co-host of the broadcast.  _ ‘It’s okay to be nervous when appearing on Television.’ _ He whispered faintly. It wasn’t stage fright that the angel was feeling though. “Two--” A choked whimper, barely audible, escaped him as he looked back to the camera. He fought for composure, best not to let himself look like a fool. “One--” A deep breath entered his lungs, nice and cool, and exited, hot and burning. He thought that, with how cold he felt inside, his breath would come out as cold as the air in an ice box, but that wasn’t the case. Instead it came out like the air from a furnace, burning and painful.

“Good afternoon everyone.” 

The words entered the air, but Ryo could hardly hear them. His body was on autopilot. Jenny stood behind the camera and he knew exactly what was going on. He submitted to her control, allowing for himself to retreat further and further back into his head. While Akira’s inner world might have been colorful and beautiful, his was dark and lonesome. Nothing but a black void for which he could hide in.

“We have a special guest here today. Mr Ryo Asuka, the lead in Demon research. I understand that you have something very important to tell us.”

What was he to say? He wasn’t going to crawl from the depths to the forefront, not with tears already streaming down his face and his heart pounding in his chest. He curled up, wrapping his beautiful wings around himself in an effort to hide away. He didn’t expect anything to be said, he expected for his body to just sit there indefinitely, but that’s not what happened. He felt his lungs being forced to take in a deep breath-- was Jenny going to control everything?

“Yes I do actually…”

That wasn’t him! He wasn’t the one speaking! He forced himself up and tried to run to the control of his mind. Strings, thick and heavy, pulled back against him. Now that he was submitting, Jenny wouldn’t let him regain control. She probably thought that he was just frozen due to stage fright! She probably didn’t know that he didn’t want this, he had a change of heart! But in the end he supposed this was what he deserved. He made his bed and now he had to lie in it.

“I’m afraid what I have to say isn’t pleasant. I must tell you about another even more horrible aspect of demonkind… and I fear it may cause everyone further concern and anxiety. But it’s the truth.” 

What story was she going to conjure? No matter how one splices the tale for which he’s lived through, you will never see the true original. No matter how you change anything it will never actually wind up being what actually happened. What he truly did was awful, his sin was great. But he supposed that would make sense since he is the devil himself… Is the devil not the origin of sin? He did not remember tempting Adam and Eve with the tree of knowledge but perhaps it was possible… 

“The truth must be told if humanity is to survive this war. They must learn everything they can about their enemy, the demons.” 

He felt his body take another deep breath in and a thick exhale. It felt strange to not even be in control of his own breathing. He pressed up against the window of his mind, observing the entire situation play out. A third party in the game. He felt like a bystander, a spectator, to some vicious act. Tears, hot and burning, streamed down his face. They began to manifest on the outside, but they weren’t nearly as dense. They wouldn’t fall as quickly as the ones inside of him did.

“My father was an archaeologist. A random discovery one day led him to the rabbit hole that would begin his study of demons. This was before demonkind had shown their true evil selves to the world, so when my father found out about it, they hunted him in an attempt to silence him.” 

Half true… The things she was saying up to this point were half true. He supposed it would make sense, easier for him to lie about it later. But all the same the fact of the matter was that he knew she was going to lie all about his involvement. He supposed it would make sense, no need for humans to know yet just how awful he was. How he was part of the reason that they were going to die. Granted, they could do nothing to him, but the fact of the matter was still there.

“Once my father had discovered that demons truly did exist, they used their foul powers to eliminate him. I say ‘eliminate’ but I do not mean that they killed my father. No, what they killed was his mind. They used this power that all demons have… The power to merge with humans, and they possessed my father’s body! Demons have the power to merge with any human at any time, in fact. My father looked like himself, but it was not really him. It was just a demon wearing my father’s skin.”

The story she was telling began to make sense. He stared onward in shock, beginning to fall still. No, his father was not possessed by a demon -- he was the demon. The demon remained in the back of his mind, gently ushering him to do things, whispering ‘hail Satan’s’ whenever his father would lay eyes upon him. He felt the burn in his stomach, the pain in his chest, as terrible memories came back. Everything in his head was spinning and he could feel his body begin to cry on the outside. The hand of the person sitting next to him rested on his shoulder, a gentle sign of comfort.

“The demon that had taken over my father ordered me to collect my friends. At that time I was unaware. I didn’t know my father had been possessed, so I did as he told me… I invited my friend Akira Fudo, along with many others, to the Asuka Mansion. But what awaited us there was a horde of demons my ‘father’ had summoned, they tried to possess my friends in that moment.”

He began to withdraw further, like retreating away from the noise. He covered his ears and began to sob in the deep darkness of his mind. It hurt to listen. He didn’t want to do this anymore. He didn’t want this to happen anymore. He didn’t want to hurt Akira anymore.  _ ‘Stop it Jenny!’ _ He screamed out, however he heard nothing in return. She was so focused on not embarrassing him that she couldn’t hear his voice.

“Why do demons possess humans?”

The voice of the other person, this was his chance, his chance to try and stop what was happening.  _ ‘Jenny! Psychic Jenny! I order you to stop right this instant! I don’t want this! I don’t want to hurt Akira!’ _ He sounded like a child… A child throwing a tantrum. Yet his voice fell upon deaf ears. She did not hear him at all, from where she stood, he was correct, she was all too focused on accomplishing the task she firmly believed he still wanted. The task he gave her orders to fulfill. 

“They want to make that human’s knowledge their own. You have seen what they truly look like, correct? Animal and plant indiscriminately mashed together. That is proof of their powers-- they merge with other beings and make those beings’ abilities their own.” 

He shook his head violently and began to shriek into the darkness. He screamed until his voice was raw in his mind. Until eventually not even he could hear it. His body, on the outside, was unaffected. He submitted, he let her take control for now, and this is what happened. He no longer, in his panic and fear, could take control. He was incapable of willing up the energy to win out against her psychic powers.

“I was in shock. All I could do was stare and keep my camera rolling. And what I recorded was my friends, one after another, getting possessed and becoming demons themselves.” 

He felt his lip tremble, his throat tighten, and his chest ache. Silence fell over him. No… This was not going to happen. Blue eyes saw the same thing. The body fumbling with the camera, pressing buttons and getting it ready to broadcast all over the world. The tears fell silently now. He had no voice to cry out or scream. Everything was falling apart all around him. This could not be happening… Yet here he was, watching it all play out, just a helpless bystander.

“You viewers, you who are still fully human, for the time being, are not safe. There is no telling when a demon may attempt to possess you. They can appear out of nowhere and take you at any time. Here is the film that I recorded that day. Watch it and bare witness as my best friend Akira Fudo is possessed by a demon.”

All will to fight disappeared as he saw the film begin playing on one of the display screens… This was the end. This was the end of it all. Watching Akira transform, knowing full well that everyone else saw it as well, he couldn’t help but break.

“The demon that took the form of my best friend, Akira Fudo, is still hiding in human society. But, it’s not just him. The person seated next to you might truly be a demon. Your father, your mother, your siblings, your children, even your best friend, any of them could be a demon in disguise.” 

The voice came back but he didn’t recognize it anymore. What had he done? What had he just done? His biggest mistake… He just betrayed the only person he loved in the world and he regretted it. He couldn’t even tell him what actually happened either, knowing full well that he wouldn’t believe it and that it still wouldn’t exempt him from setting it all up in the first place.

“Think about it, think very hard! Are the people around you really who they seem!? Have they changed at all in the recent past!? You must be careful, demons are expert liars! They are also clever actors, they can become perfect copies of their victims! Take a close look at the people around you! Look hard, and find the demons hiding in your midst. If you wait for it to show itself, if you delay taking action until it bares its fangs and attacks you, it is too late. Before that happens, you must kill them with your own hands. The fate of humanity is in your hands…”

That was it… That was the end of it. He felt her control release him as he was given the option to come forth or to just sit there in a state of detachment. The answer was clear. He could not just leave the body to sit there numb and unfeeling, blank and without emotion. The cameras were now off so as he regained his control he allowed himself to break down just a bit. He could not stop the tears from falling down his face in streams.

He truly had no fear of Akira’s safety… But he knew that Makimuras stood next to no chance with the situation as it was. He felt his lip trembling as his face grew red and hot. Like a baby he began to bawl.

Those around him were shocked, but they couldn’t blame him. If only they knew it wasn’t the omission of such information, coming to terms with it all, that was getting to him. No… it was the fact that he knew he had just made the worst mistake of any life he has ever lived. He has just done something so awful that he might as well be killed on the spot. Nothing in this world mattered to him anymore.

Somewhere in the town there were demon hunters coming to hunt down Akira. Somewhere in the town there were neighborhood vigilanties ready to ‘burn the witches’. Somewhere in the town there was a fire burning and there was blood shed… But then again the same could be said about the entire world. Nobody thought to ever question the messenger, nobody ever thought to question him.

Somewhere in the world Akira was thinking of him, and he was hating everything about him… He embraced himself as he sobbed, unable to calm down for a good hour as Jenny tried to console him. He was nothing but a child of seventeen and this was already the world he was living in. This was already the weight he had to bare. Granted his soul was so much older, but his actual body was crumbling under the weight of his own mistakes. How he wished he could just apologize and beg for forgiveness… 

_ ‘You can hit me again if you want… I kind of deserve it… I’ll still love you regardless…’ _

He wanted Akira to punch him in the face, to break his jaw and throw him to the ground. He knew he deserved it at this point but there was nothing he could do to fix it. When his tears were all cried out and his head pounded from the exertion, they began to escort him back to the armored vehicle for another long ride back home. The moon was in the sky now, a stark contrast to the setting sun. Smoke bellowed out in the distance, he had a feeling he knew where that was from.

He truly has fallen from grace… 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've reached an amazing milestone with this chapter everyone! We have reached 1000+ hits! I am so proud of this fic and honestly I couldn't thank you all enough. I know 1000 pairs of eyes isn't too much when looking at some of the other works on the internet but truly for a fic that's not even half a year old (this fic was first posted in August) with not even 100 chapters, it brings me such joy! I hope this fic continues to grow! It's not ending anytime soon -- we are only 15% through the story I am meaning to tell (and that's estimating highly) so unless I decide to cut a lot of the story out, we still have a long way to go. Thank you all for sticking through this -- you, the readers, are what are inspiring me to write this story and every original story I plan to put out in the future. Anyways, enough of the super sappy stuff -- see you all next chapter. Thank you once again. ~Stitch


	61. Fallen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira finally discovers Ryo's true identity as Lucifer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter isn't nearly as long, I apologize. I felt like a shorter, more to the point, chapter was necessary for this. I didn't want to dwell upon the scene too much since we are about to get so much coming to us.

“Look at what you’ve done!”

Ryo stood there, wrapping his arms around himself. He felt awful, but at the same time there was nothing he could do. He couldn’t apologize, he couldn’t give him condolences, he had no right to forgiveness. The graves were amateur, but there was nothing he could do about that. Akira tried his best…  _ ‘In memory of…’ _ He caught only a glimpse of the words engraved on the crosses before he looked away. There were no graveyards anymore, and if there were than you’d be just burying dead bodies over dead bodies… Here in the wastelands their bodies could remain undisturbed.

“You’ve killed them, Ryo… How could you do this to your own kind…?” Akira turned to face him, rage plastered on his face. Tear stains lined his skin, an obvious sign of his disposition. He felt his own tears begin to sting his eyes, burning streams manifesting upon his pale features. He tried his hardest to suppress it but in the end he truly couldn’t. “Akira I…” He began, only to lose all will to say anything. Nothing he could say would make any difference, and even if it did, what would he say? What combination of words, sounds, emotions, could convey his regret?

“I don’t understand Ryo, how could you do this!? How could you hurt humans like this!? How could you turn them against each other so blindly!? Are you a demon!? Is that what it is, are you just a demon!?” Akira’s words stung more than he thought they would. Once upon a time he would’ve been ecstatic if someone asked him that question, now it just left a foul taste in his mouth.

“No Akira…” He practically whispered, like a moping child he barely got the words out. He struggled to articulate the sentences that he needed to manifest into the air.

“What was that, Ryo? Or should I say Mr Asuka?” The tears came faster now, a choked sob escaping his throat. He covered his mouth out of reflex. It hurt, everything hurt. He could see that Akira felt bad about what he said, even though he was justified in what he was feeling. He felt bad and Ryo wanted to tell him to knock it off. To just beat him black and blue. To take out all of his rage right then and there.

“Please Akira… I’m sorry…” He whispered out, not realizing that he hadn’t even answered the question that was put down before him. “Why did you do this!? Why would you attack the species that you are apart of, Ryo!?” Akira screamed at him, but the blond couldn’t find an answer, not until the devilman in a fit of rage punched him in the side of his head. “Answer me, dammit!” 

Ryo fell to the ground, watching black blood ooze from his temple. In that moment, there was no hiding the secret. Akira stepped back in shock, why was his blood black and not red? Blue eyes looked back up to him, a weak whimper. “You’re a demon…” Akira whispered. “N-No! I’m not a demon!” He argued quickly, feeling a burning heat in his hands. He couldn’t hide who he was now. He couldn’t hide his true identity anymore. The devilman had to know.

“Than what are you!? Who are you!?” The voice of Akira Fudo echoed out across the vast expanse, reverberating onwards and coming back weak and faint. Silence fell, the devilman watched as the older reached into his shirt and pulled out a feather. Ryo held the feather to his temple and allowed it to start seeping up the blood. All damage began to reverse, the wound began to close, the feather began to evaporate. Akira couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“Akira… I’m not human… But I’m not a demon either…” He pushed himself to his feat as the glow around his hands and feet began to become brighter.

A bright flash, a loud pop, everything changed in an instant as his clothes vanished, his form changed, his hair grew. Feathers, his beautiful plumage, grew upon his abdomen covering his chest and hips. Wings sprouted from all over, truly embracing his form. It felt so amazing to be back in his own skin again. He looked so different, and yet was the same exact boy that Akira knew. 

The face… Amon recognized it immediately, and in turn so did Akira. His eyes widened as his hand went to his lips. No wonder the demon was so in love with the blond. No wonder he always wanted for the two of them to be together. Ryo was--

“Akira, I’m Satan… I’m Lucifer, the fallen angel from Heaven. The great demon lord…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the beginning of Ryo and Akira's war. They are 17 each at this time. Next chapter they will be well into their 20s. Just an added note.


	62. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The world finally falls apart, the last humans are picked apart by the claws of the demons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By this point all humans are dead -- there are no more remaining. All that's left are the devilmen. Humans had killed themselves through their own paranoia, or through the demons.

“Look at them squirm… Look at them die…” Jenny’s words didn’t make him feel any better, if anything he was feeling worse than ever before. He embraced himself from where he sat, perched upon the roof of a skyscraper long fallen to ruin. Up here, nobody could see him, with his beautiful white wings and golden blond hair, he has nothing but a ghost. The chill of the upper air, despite the fact that he was covered in beautiful plumage to keep himself warm, was freezing cold. Smoke bellowed out from the ground as people burned down houses and publicly executed the demons all around them. They feared the true demons, they murdered each other for ‘safety’.

“You are so sorrowful, my lord. What is ever the matter?” Jenny asked him, her eyes following his gaze up to the white flag which the humans had put up so long ago. It fluttered in the wind upon the highest tower of the city. Those humans tried to make peace with the demons, but of course that would not suffice, Ryo could not be content letting them live at all. Yet, as he sat there, he felt sick to his stomach. “Nothing Jenny… I promise I’m fine…” A lie… He lied a lot as of late didn’t he.

_ ‘The person you have been following all this time is a lie. Ryo Asuka never existed, he was merely a proxy for my life. Now that I am awake I must announce my true identity. I am the great demon lord Satan, here to announce that the book of Revelation has just begun… And I’m afraid judgement states that all of humanity is filled with nothing but terrible and awful sinners.’ _

Those words, he said them without thinking, they came to him naturally that day when he revealed himself on live television. His beautiful wings exploding out of him as he destroyed everything around him. A blast so massive that it rivaled a nuclear warhead…

Tokyo was nothing but a scorched wasteland now, the area around it charred and desolate. Over 13,000,000 people were killed in that moment. It spread the message across however, everyone saw it, everyone knew what would happen now. He supposed that was why that flag was erected. “Lord Satan, you know I have seen into that mind of yours. You are genuinely hurting. Do share. Is it because of your fight with Akira still? It has been a year or two, are you ever going to get over it?” She inquired curiously, her big eyes filled with concern and worry.

“I don’t know… I’ve never felt the same way towards anyone else before… And he has Amon inside that body of his too! What am I supposed to do, just give up on my husband?” The thought seemed stupid, foolish, unfair… But at the same time he did bring it upon himself. He couldn’t see his husband because he merged him with someone who he no longer was on good terms with. Someone that he had hurt without meaning to. Someone that now hated every atom of his being. 

The ledge of the tower he was sitting upon was pushed out from beneath him. Satan allowed himself to drop to the Earth, speeding along like a bullet. Jenny watched him curiously, marveling as his massive wings spread out about him and brought him to glide over humanity. He sore overhead, watching as their eyes turned to focus on him. Gun fire… but not towards him. Lucifer watched as they put their weapons to their own heads, believing that just looking at the devil will bring them terrible misfortune. Misfortune which is so awful that suicide is a much more harmless way to go.

He didn’t care too much, the blood didn’t splatter far enough to reach his plumage, as such he was unaffected. The flashes of light were the only things that bothered him, only because it dragged his attention to the ground, throwing off his direction of flight. The noises, the bullets, none of it bothered him one bit.

Looking down at the wasteland he couldn’t help but feel both terror and relief. Buildings overgrown with rot, concrete displaced leaving gashes in the foundation and the walling. Glass coated in gore littered the ground. The cannibals have begun to feast upon the rotting dead, their corpses laid out unceremoniously all throughout the streets. He was glad not to be down in the flames and the violence. Passing over town square, he watched as a group of cultists who worshipped him attempt to force the humans to merge with demons. He stuck around for a spell, just until the humans they had nailed to crosses, not unlike Jesus Christ, began to succumb to their injuries. Once that was accomplished, he simply snapped his fingers and allowed for the heads of the cultist to begin to fill with pressure. A pop caused their skulls to explode like water balloons, the pressure was just too much. But then again, they deserved it.

From there he began to fly onwards once again, the wind ruffling his feathers in a way that was reminiscent of those nights he’d fly through the sky with Sirene. He missed her… He missed everyone if he was being honest. However his own stupidity led to something like this. His own foolishness caused for such a terrible outcome. So many generals were dead, the angels were attacking again, Jenny seemed to grow more and more distant to him, and he no longer could reach out to either Akira or Amon. His worst nightmares had become a reality in this terrible apocalypse.

He fluttered his wings to slow down, righting himself as he gently glided to the ground. The people whom cluttered among the headstones scattered immediately, terrified of his power. The dirt was cool and comforting beneath his feet. He knew there were bodies beneath him, but that didn’t matter. Their bones were feeding mother nature, the only thing that humans were ever good for in his mind… His blue eyes scanned the crowd, they were cowering in fear of him like dogs.

The gates rattled as he approached the doors to the church. They shook the metal bars attempting to escape, but they were beyond locked. They had fortified themselves in this church, hoping that the holy aura remaining in this abandoned building would keep him away. If only they all knew that churches didn’t matter. There was no holy spell to keep him away. He was unaffected, the only time Satan would be intimidated or battered away by the words of religion would be when they triggered dark and dank memories he’d rather not have to live through a second time.

The presence of that baby that didn’t even live to breathe it’s first breath. The abuse and torment he faced because he just wasn’t good enough. The days he spent being beaten and tortured all because they viewed him to be broken. How horrible. The rage bubbled up inside of him and he found that the doors of the building opened a little too easy. Dust bellowed out around him and he found that humans who were hiding out immediately lost their minds.

Cornered now by the devil himself, the amount of panic as well as creativity he saw in that moment was incredible. People tried to crawl out of windows that were near the top of the room, only to fall and begin to create a macabre body of corpses which would do all too well to prevent death by that way. Some individuals thought it was too much and began to drink the poison for which they used to maintain any semblance of daily ritualism in their lives. Bleach, window cleaner, medication, whatever it was. Closing their eyes for the last time and slipping away in hopes that Satan would not drag them back. The guns were the least entertaining, but he supposed those were few and far between. He stood there for a period, just waiting until every soul was either gone or deceased. He didn’t pursue a single one… Didn’t find a reason for it. After all, with what he was going to do, not a single one of them would live to see the moon rise.

He walked up to the altar, it was beautiful he must admit. A statue of Jesus upon the cross was on the far wall. Folding his wings against his back, Ryo approached the statue. Reaching up he allowed for his fingers to run over the battered skin of the Jesus’ legs. Blue eyes stared up into the pained expression. He never knew Jesus of Nazareth, but he has read enough of the stories to know that not only did people assume he did, but also that his father probably loved this man more than himself.

To think that this was his replacement… It sickened him. But then again, considering everything, he figured it would make sense. Jealousy built up in the angel, pride and anger. Where was his father when he needed him? He brought Jesus back to life! He spared him the pain and suffering of death! And what did he get? Nothing? That’s what he thought… His fingers slipped down the battered ‘flesh’ as he sunk to the ground.

The glass on the floor penetrated his fair knees, black blood oozing from the wounds and out all around him. It fanned out around him almost like a skirt of gore. It dribbled down the stairs and stained the carpet. He looked up to the statue, a grimace forming as an illusion of tears manifested upon the statue’s face. Of course he would be crying… Of course he would be ‘grieving’.

As he covered his face, hunched over and curled in on himself, he felt droplets land upon the back of his neck. Fear began to strangle himself from inside. What was that? Was that a tear? A boom of thunder led to his jolting upright, gaze falling upon the statue again, only to see that the ‘tears’ were simply just water trailing from a crack in the ceiling. How foolish he was… How stupid.

Putting his palms up to his temples he began to beat upon himself. “Stupid… Stupid…! Look at how fucking stupid you are, Lucifer!” He scolded himself, pulling at his own hair in rage.

He didn’t want to cry, not in a place like this, but truly he couldn’t help it. Those tears fell from pretty blues and trickled down his face, disappearing into the blood stain that surrounded him. He sat there for an eternity, the sounds of rattling gates and metal dying away, muffled by the pouring rain and booming thunder. The crackle of lightning struck someplace nearby, but it wasn’t here, therefore he didn’t care. He felt frigid, the world around him chilling more and more it seemed, until he could see his breath in the air. How strange… It was summer and yet…?

Warmth, sudden and aggressive, came against him. It was like someone was embracing him from behind. “Hush… Brother… It’s alright…” The voice caused him to whirl around, grinding his knees into the glass beneath him. He didn’t care, he just needed to see the mildew stained walls and eternal darkness. A breath of relief came to him when he saw the pews were empty, vacant of even a soul.

Rising to his feet, legs trembling all the while, he began to make his way down the aisle, peering into each seat to see if the person who spoke to him was just a figment of his imagination or not. It had to be right? Perhaps he was going crazy… Maybe this whole thing was just a hallucination, a figment of the coma he was in… Yes, he had to still be in that coma right? He would wake up in a hospital bed with Akira sitting beside him, crying and holding his hand.

“Think again brother.”

_ Shish… _

Once more he turned on an axis, shocked to see that candlelight now illuminated the once dark cathedral. He stood, petrified, to see not an abandoned memorial of a world long gone, but a fully renovated and functioning church. Walls with golden wallpaper, the burning warmth of candlelight, hundreds of eyes staring upon him from within the pews.

Ryo pressed his back up against the door, terrified even more by how cold it was. Ghostly hands reached out and grasped his feathers, a cry as he ripped himself away. Looking to the door he saw bony and skeletal fingers pulling a few of his feathers into the door to be absorbed. Holding his dainty hand to his chest, he found himself unable to do anything about this… This wasn’t real, he knew it wasn’t, and because it wasn’t his feathers became completely powerless.

Turning back to the pews and the people, he found himself unable to look any of them in the face. He saw their golden blond hair, their beautiful white robes, but the biggest thing he noticed were their beautiful wings. Various numbers and sizes… Every single person here was an angel. Every single entity sitting in the pews was someone from Heaven, someone who knew him, someone who loathed him.

“Lucifer… How lovely to see you well… How’s our prince of Heaven doing?” The question was mocking him, he could feel it in his bones. An insult for which he hated hearing. His gaze travelled down the aisles to meet that of Michael. Out of all the people he could have seen here, why was Michael the one that had shown up? Why was he the one that decided to appear.

“Oh come on… don’t be shy. Show all these angels who they should be afraid of. Don’t you want to kill me?” Lucifer stood still, he wouldn’t give into the other angel’s temptations… It wasn’t worth it, not in the state he was in. “Where’s your husband? Slave to humanity just as you gifted him?” The seraphim bit his lip, normally he would grow defensive, but now he just openly accepted the insult.

** _“YOU INSOLENT BRAT!”_ **

He felt the older charge at him, Lucifer wanted to react but hadn’t gotten the chance. His form was thrusted back. A sharp bang as he felt his body slam against the door.

It creaked under the weight, Michael continuing to push against it. Lucifer wheezed as he stared Michael in the eye, the blade in the archangel’s hand gleaming in the candle glow. Tittering echoed from the pews of the church. The tip of the sword inched closer and closer to his cheek. “Maybe if you didn’t have such a pretty face than perhaps your boyfriend will see how ugly you truly are and actually come to kill you…” The tip stabbed into his flesh, his cheek beginning to ooze the midnight black fluid which ran through his veins. It hurt, but Lucifer would never let that be known.

The blade went deeper and deeper, sharper and sharper pains accompanying it. He wanted to scream and cry, try to fight him off, but he had lost all the will to do so. Staring into the older’s eyes, he wondered if there was any remorse at all within them. All he could see was coldness and cruelty, true hostility in all forms.

“Michael! We had a deal!”

The angel stopped, frozen in place, before he pulled away abruptly. Lucifer sunk to the ground, coughing and wheezing. The blood which dripped from his face beginning to stain his white plumage. His gaze, fuzzy and blurring, traveled back up to the altar. He saw Michael kneeling there before two figures. One of which was a mere man, no doubt about it, the other for which was one he recognized.

Pale skin that looked more ghostly than anything else, eyes that held galaxies within them, a million wings that fanned around him like a sun -- that was God standing upon the altar in a form comprehensible to man. Beside him was most likely Jesus… The man that so many worshipped, the ‘son of God’.

“Michael we had a deal, and you know fully well what that deal was. Now follow it or you will face my wrath.” God? Have a wrath? When was the last time that all powerful being has lashed out on anyone so obviously?

He didn’t know, nor did he care. For now his vision was fading in and out. Michael said something in retaliation, but he couldn’t quite make it out. No, his brain was running away. Sleep took over him as the church began to revert back to it’s dark normalcy. The angels left, God left, leaving him to awaken underneath the statue of Jesus once again. Back before it all happened.

His knees were bandaged up, his cheek had a few stitches, but as far as he knew nobody else was here and nobody else came. The storm continued to boom outside, God’s warning to Michael still fresh in his mind. The ‘tears’ from the statue of Jesus continued to bring him back to reality. Pushing himself up, he found himself contemplating his next course of action very carefully.

He needed a nest… A place of safety. A place where Akira can come to him. That’s what he needed. That’s what his intention was for coming here. Now on his shaky legs, he plucked one of the feathers off of his hip and set it on the altar. It glowed before turning a deep jet black. Crystals began to spread out from it, jarring and loud cracking sounds emanating from the forming structure.

It took no more than half an hour for a large pillar of crystal to rise up from the church. A spire which reached up like the tower of babel into the Heaven’s. Encased inside was Lucifer himself, allowing himself to fall into a dormant state. A state where he could fight through his grief and turmoil. He could not lead an army or a civilization with his mind in tatters like this.

The spire reached into the sky, lightning struck it but it was unaffected. The base of the church was still there, in part, and was used to provide access into the giant structure for which nobody knew what to make of it. At the base so many humans were impaled, humans that couldn’t get away fast enough.

A faint glow came from the top of the darkened crystal, no doubt the final chamber where the devil’s body is being held. Like Rapunzel in her tower, except this time there was no hair to be let down. There was no way to get inside except to climb from within. There was no way for anyone to reach him in any capacity. As such he was trapped up in the tower, silently sleeping, awaiting for one of two variables to be met.

For Akira to come to him… or for his mind to heal and move on from the damage that it had received. Judging by the dreams that manifested in his mind, however, the question of him possibly moving on seemed impossible… 

At the base of the spire so many demons gathered, Jenny once more took the helm of guiding the demon army, with Zennon right behind her to help.

They had to make sure that nobody got into the spire without the devil’s permission, for when one steps inside they are granted access to the devil’s mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! We are getting to the end of the time loop arc! If you are liking Eden, please leave a comment and tell me what you think! I need all the opinions I can get -- good or bad. Thank you for reading, and I hope to continue to entertain in the future.


	63. The Spire Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A massive structure has appeared, now that the devilman army is strong enough, Akira finally decides to travel to this bizarre structure to face Ryo once and for all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akira and Amon are separated in the spire, mostly because Ryo and Satan are separated too in a way. Sirene isn't actually there in the spire, but because Satan wants her to be there, she is.

Akira couldn’t believe his eyes when he finally came upon the church. “That’s the spire… the epicenter of Satan’s attack.” Tako spoke, the demon cat fluttered its wings rapidly in an attempt to stay afloat. The wind reeked of sulfur, smoke, and rot. Looking all around him he could see nothing but desolation. Not a single patch of grass, not a single tree in sight, just an empty wasteland. The demons milled about in the valley before them. Funny how the collapse of all human structures created crests and troughs to the land that was not there before. Artificial hills built of concrete and glass.

The skeletons of bodies long decomposed hung from the jutting out crystal which made the spire. Pierced and run through-- skewered upon the structure. They were like disturbing Halloween decorations, their limbs limp and suspended. “Lucifer is inside, I’m guessing?” Akira asked softly, the name putting a foul taste on his tongue, especially when he heard Amon correct him in the back of his mind. _ ‘Ryo… Ryo is inside.’ _

No, Ryo was dead. Ryo never existed. He was certain that the blond he knew for all of his life, died when he slipped into that coma so long ago. The fallen angel may have all of Ryo’s memories, but Akira was certain that he didn’t have his morality. He believed in his heart that Ryo would never hurt him like this… Ryo would never take his feelings and manipulate them in this way. As such the boy he knew was certainly dead.

“Indeed… He is. From what I’ve gathered, he apparently sealed himself away… He’s sleeping up at the top, his dreams seeping out into the structure beneath him. I warn you though, he apparently locked himself away because of you. As such, there may be some terrifying things waiting for you inside.” Tako warned him, big yellow eyes gazing up to the devilman that stood over the rubble.

Tako had witnessed the love and care between the two boys… He remembered when he first met Ryo Asuka, immediately he recognized him to be the devil himself. There was no split persona, there was no death. Simply a regaining of memories long suppressed. As such it hurt his heart to see them fall to such extremes. To see Akira so desperate to fight that he’s doing it for the sake of just dying… To see Satan so willing to submit to his blows that he’d seal himself away in an endless nightmare.

“There is bound to be resistance… You know this right?” Another devilman, a general just like Tako, spoke. “I’m aware… We will fight our way through and attempt to enter the spire. We have to. It may be a losing battle, but we have to let him know…” Akira spoke, his order firm and well placed. Everyone knew this was where they died. None of them were going to just lay down and become part of the ‘utopia’ Satan had offered to them. As such they would die here.

They stood upon their mountain of rubble for a while, staring out into the vastness. “Ready yourselves!” Akira shouted out, his bellowing voice carrying on the wind. The demons below turned to face them, seeing quickly the threat that was being placed upon them. Jenny turned towards her troops and sent out a psychic order to all of them.  _ ‘Akira Fudo is the only one allowed into the spire! Kill anyone who dare try!’ _

Little did they know that they need not try anything. The conflict began, so many demons and devilmen lost their lives, a charge into battle. Snarling, growling, the bellowing of flames and ice. Tearing and ripping flesh drawing yellow and red blood which blended together into a sickening orange. As soon as any members of the devilman army, however, entered the gates of the church yard, a massive crystal would grow out of the ground and impale them ending their lives. A shock to all. Satan was aware and he wasn’t going to allow anyone else to enter the spire, only Akira Fudo.

Akira was surprised when he was met with little to no resistance. Stepping into the churchyard he found that things were a little too easy. His padded, animalistic feet kicked dust into the air as he walked. This wasn’t right… He saw the bodies of the other devilmen impaled and meeting their ends-- but if that’s the case why wasn’t Lucifer doing the same to him?  _ ‘He loves us, Akira.’ _ Amon informed him, but he ignored it, believing that such a comment could not possibly be true.

He pressed his hands to the door of the church, a sharp sound resonating around him. Akira turned to see that crystals were beginning to encase the gates. They were rapidly enveloping them. Up and up they grew, reaching into the sky, until eventually a dome of black crystal swallowed up the entire church. He couldn’t see, not even with his eyes so acclimated to the darkness. He was enveloped in the shadows… Until a faint purple glow began to seep from the crystals. Little lights dropped from them, unfurling, and turning into bug like creatures that glowed solidly.

_ ‘Lumiflies…’ _ Amon murmured from within. “Lumifly? What’s that?” Akira inquired as one flew close to him. It had an elongated body that radiated a gorgeous purple light. _ ‘It’s a species of bug in Heaven… Because Heaven’s sun isn’t above them, but beneath them, it is often times dark. Lumiflies exist to provide lighting. They trap them in jars and hang them out in front of their houses and along the streets… Satan loves to speak of them, he has only ever shown me drawings… This is my first time ever seeing them.’ _

Akira was in shock, his hand lifted up to touch one of the creatures, but it just vanished into a cloud of dust when he made contact with it. Evaporating into the prevalent night for which the crystals created. Looking to his hand, he saw the fur was entangled with a purplish dust for which glowed. It was very faint, almost nonexistent, but he could see it in the darkness nonetheless. How strange… 

These creatures didn’t truly exist, they both knew this. They were merely a creation of Satan’s power. Perhaps, in his dreams, he is seeing the lumifly fluttering in the sky. Perhaps Ryo is dreaming of Heaven so high up in that spire… Considering he was the devil, such memories were concerning. A deep breath was taken, the scent of iron and minerals filled Akira’s nose. It was salty, dank, and blood-like. All the scents mingled together in a macabre canvas to which assaulted the nose.

Approaching the crystals, he let his hand press against it. Through his fur he could feel the chill. It was frigid, like ice however without the moisture. He listened, trying to catch any sense of sound from the outside. The tearing of flesh, the howling of beasts, but all he could hear was the faint flutter of the lumiflies all around them. That and the creaking of the crystals as they continued to grow, digging deep into the ground and continuing to reach out like arms into the sky.

_ ‘We have to go in now, Akira… There is no time to lose.’ _ Amon told him sharply. “You just want to see your wife.” The human shot back, his voice more harsh than he’d like.  _ ‘Can you blame me when you wish for him to die? I do hope, for you sake, that you still remember the deal we made when we first merged…’ _ How could he forget? He was expecting it this entire time, the fact that Amon waited until now to bring it up was something of a shock… Probably because they both knew it’d be an admittance to their death. An unstoppable force and an immovable object.

Akira stared at the wooden door that led into the church, it’s surface was corroded and decaying. As he neared, he wondered just how easy it would be to throw those doors open. Those doors which have been facing the worst decay… Decay for which humans have, for so long, put off but now is in full force. He pressed against it, surprised that it opened easily and did not break. 

He stared out into the darkness, not entering, but at the same time not withdrawing. He just stood, staring into the empty void that filled the church. Akira watched as a lumifly began to lazily drift into the building. An invisible wall rippled as it passed through, a hazy glow remained going deeper and deeper into the abyss, before finally disappearing. Devoured by the darkness. This must be the entrance to the devil’s mind, a wall of some strange force, fluid almost in nature. A gel just waiting for them to pass through.

_ ‘Ladies first.’  _ Amon snickered, not at all concerned by such a development. Not nearly as concerned as Akira felt. That comment was more than enough to send him moving forward into the darkness. He didn’t want to go in, a part of him was telling him to turn around and run away, but all the same he knew that they had to finish this. They had to see the end of it. Otherwise they’d be sitting and waiting for something else to happen. For some impossible outcome.

Passing through the door felt like pushing through gelatin. Uncomfortable, slimy, and thick. When Akira fell through on the other side, he felt so incredibly different and yet so close to the same. Looking around him he saw faint candlelight… And yet there was no color. Everything but himself was a monochrome. Stepping forward he entered the main part of the church, approaching the altar to see a giant door in a wall of crystals.

“Amon, should I go in?” No response came, Akira was just simply speaking out into the air. How strange it was, he felt utterly alone here. “Amon?” He inquired again. No response. He approached the door, reaching out to the door knob when suddenly he caught his reflection. Gone was the fur and the muscles, his scrawny figure was back just as he remembered it before he merged with Amon. He was separated from the demon in this world… Here he was vulnerable and all by himself.

“What the hell?”

He couldn’t believe it! Could anyone blame him? What did Lucifer do to him? “He separated you from your demon companion… You didn’t like him anyways, did you? You two disagreed on everything, did you not?” He turned to face the voice to find a beautiful woman sitting in one of the pews. She rose to her feet, her long silver hair falling over her shoulders. Everything about her seemed familiar, but Akira couldn’t pinpoint it. “I’ve been watching you from the afterlife for a long time, Devilman.”

Suddenly the memories came back, the sky battle with the beautiful demon Sirene, the same demon that he found out had raised Ryo since infancy. She looked so different, so entirely human now. Was this the form that Ryo knew all too well? Was this the form that made it near impossible to tell that the harpy was the same as the human before him. “What do you want, Sirene? Amon’s not here.”

“I know that… I’m not here to help Amon… At least not right now… No I’m here to help you. For you see, Lord Satan has grown obsessive over you. Truly he loves you more than anything in this world. So I’ve decided that I’m going to help you. I cannot go up into this part of the spire like this, I must instead go up in another section with Amon. But I can at least give you tips.”

Akira was confused, why was she helping him? Wasn’t she the same woman that believed that humans were bugs? Bugs that were digging into the Earth? And what did she mean by ‘Satan has grown obsessive’ over him? Does that mean that the great demon king has grown to love him? But that was impossible! For Satan to love a human was just a lie to be told! The devil cannot love mankind in any way, that was just an impossibility. He remembered asking Mr Makimura about it one day during Sunday school, he said that the devil was jealous of humanity and that’s why he hated them all… Therefore he firmly believed that Satan could not love him.

“Tip number one, take everything you see with a grain of salt. What is real and what isn’t real isn’t always so clear. In this world everything will feel real, but just know you are never in any real danger. Nothing in this place will kill you, not even Satan himself, but that does not mean you want to do something stupid. Because nothing will kill you it also means you will eternally remain wounded, you will never heal. The body heals itself to prevent itself from dying, but if there is no death than what’s the point of even trying to heal yourself. You will remain harmed in this world forever, so don’t do something foolish, understood?” Akira nodded his head to which she smiled.

“Good… Now tip number two, remember that Satan has all the power of God in this world. You are in his mind. He can do whatever he wants. You can only overpower him if you intend to do it through way of emotions. However, judging by how much he had been grieving, that shouldn’t be too hard. Remember that you are the only person he is letting in here alive. Play on that. He will not kill you in here however, no… He loves you far too much to do that. Don’t take advantage of his love, but know that it is an option should you need it… Don’t be afraid, however, of him.” None of this made sense to the human, but he supposed that was just how things were going to be.

“Finally, this is Satan’s mind… You must remember that everything you see here is a recreation of his subconscious. Nothing will be as it seems, sometimes you will see an apple but it won’t just be an apple. Use your brain because symbolism is everything in the spire. If you can’t guess the symbolism right, then you’ll just be running around blindly opening doors that lead to nowhere.” She began to move over to the door, her fingers grabbing the door knob in his stead, she pulled it open revealing crystallized stairs that lead up and up into the darkness above.

To say Akira was terrified was an understatement.

He was going into Satan’s mind… He was going into the mind of someone whom he didn’t want anything to do with. Someone who hates humanity for one reason or another. What would he do when he saw something he didn’t want to see. Taking a step forward he began to climb the steps before he felt the woman take hold of his arm. He turned to face her, eyes wide, curiosity in his expression. “One last thing before you go up, something I forgot to mention… You aren’t the only one split into two here…”

He was going to ask her what that meant before she pulled away and slammed the door shut upon him. Akira ran to the door to try and open it, only to find that it no longer was there. He wasn’t in the real world anymore, no… He was in the spire. Now that he was in it, there was no turning back. He sat there for a moment, taking in everything. The darkness, the colorless environment, the chilly air that enveloped him.

He wondered what Amon was doing right now… Was he just as terrified as he was currently?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will center around Amon's trip through the spire -- we will focus on Amon first and then Akira, mostly because Akira has a longer journey to go through.


	64. The Spire Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amon wanders through the Spire in search of Lucifer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amon is slowly driven mad in this chapter. We see the distress and panic that he is put under. Considering all he wants is to live on with his wife, it is understandable that he is being met with unbearable amounts of panic only amplified by the environment he finds himself in. There is a lot of symbolism in this chapter and I hope you all can see it.

Faint white light shined down upon his expression, stirring Amon from his sleep. His eyes fluttered open, white and milky and yet all too able to see. He picked his head up, gazing around, only to find that the aching pain that often accompanied the human body, one he had shared with Akira for so many years, was gone. He felt stronger now, less restricted, he felt free once more. He flexed his wings out, allowed for his arms and legs to stretch to their full length, he was even able to twitch the wings upon his head. It felt so good, albeit painful, to truly move once again, like a statue shaking the stone off his body.

He rose to his feet, not caring how foolish of an idea it may have been, stumbling forward out of the cave he found himself in. How strange it was to find himself in a natural burrow in the earth. How truly bizarre. What he expected to see when he emerged from the familiar darkness were tall buildings, civilization, a world that was populated densely by humanity. Either that or a world of desolation, chaos wrought and long since dead. What he found instead was neither one nor the other. Despite the lack of any true color, he could recognize the foliage and the natural lighting.

He was taken back to that long forgotten era… the Mesozoic era. Where giant lizards stomped their feet and fought each other until the death. Where monsters were commonplace and demons held their reign. Did that mean that everything he witnessed was just a dream? A faux memory to throw him off guard? No… that couldn’t be the case. For if it was than color would be in this world. Beautiful greens, elegant blues, and bright flowers which secreted the sweetest scent. But that just wasn’t the case.

He approached a tree, his claws running over the ‘bark’. It was cold to the touch and felt all too smooth. 

Bits came off and upon closer inspection he realized that this entire place was made up of those crystals for which the spire was crafted from. The spire… The words came back to him in a language that he hardly understood now. The language of humanity. Akira, he remembered that human so well. That’s when the realization hit him. Akira was alone somewhere in here, most likely in danger but not only that if he wasn’t then he most certainly was looking for Satan. He couldn’t let the human reach Ryo, for if the blond is as dormant as he expects him to be than he is certainly in danger.

Turning back to where he came, he found that the cavern was part of a great wall which reached high up into the sky -- no doubt the far wall of the spire. He delved back inside to see if he could cheat his way through burrowing into the spire, however he soon came to a dead end rather quickly. He had to go through the foliage, there was no question. He couldn’t even climb up the wall for which the cavern was imbedded. The walls were too hard and solid for his claws to dig into.

Amon had even attempted to fly, but his one wing was filled with aches every time he tried. Satan was a tricky fellow, no doubt he would have a different set of rules in his mindscape. Perhaps it is part of his plan to render him flightless, that way he would have to fight his way up to him. Or perhaps it was Lucifer’s way of telling him to turn back. Regardless of the potential reason, he refused such things… He would not allow his wife to suffer by himself anymore. Whether he wanted him to or not, he would fight to get to the top of the Spire.

Amon began to move cautiously through the wilderness, paying careful attention to the noises all around him. It was far too still in this world, not a single sound, not a single breath of air. The stillness was overbearing in a way. Thick and suffocating. Looking around he saw not a single soul, not a single pair of eyes, just the glassy flora.

There had to be something here… He couldn’t just be here all by himself. This was Satan’s mind. Why would he render him flightless but then leave him all by himself in the equivalent of a terrarium? It didn’t make any sense. This didn’t sound like his wife. Stepping through the flora, he felt a stabbing pain in his leg. Looking down he saw that his leg had collided with one of the flowers. It’s petals were sharp as razor blades and cut into his flesh. Yellow blood stained the faint gray before it too devolved into the colorless mess. The gash wasn’t too deep, but it was enough to give him some semblance of panic. 

He took another step, painfully aware that the thin blades of grass which he could feel breaking beneath him, made no sound. Another step… No sound came from the pad of his feet. He picked up a rock and threw it at one of the flowers, it shattered into a million pieces… Still not a single breath of sound as heard. What was this place? The air began to grow oppressive as the silence itself became a deafening noise. Was he deaf? Was he going blind? What was happening to him?

He began to walk a little faster, looking left and right to try and find some semblance of life. Panic was overwhelming him, taking hold of him, as Satan drifted into the back of his mind. Survival was all he could think of right now. Another flower cut into his hip, this time he did not notice however, he tried to pay it no mind other than the faint wince. He needed to see something else, find something else.

Soon his brisk walk turned into a jog, which them turned into a run, eventually he was bursting through the landscape like a raging bull. Not caring that thin streaks and gashes were wrenched into his body. He was lost in the mind of an angel that could hear nothing and see nothing. He was lost in the mind of someone truly broken and he knew it. An exit, he saw an exit come into view. That had to be the way to his love! He emerged from the woods to find… 

The cave.

Pain resonated through his sides as he panted out, heavy and thick breaths. Did he go in a circle? He turned around and looked all around. He managed to see the place he came in from… “Fuck.” He hissed out, only knowing that he said it from how his mouth moved, as to be expected no sound came out. “Lucifer!” He tried to howl out, but once more no sound actually escaped him. This place was a vacuum… He turned around and rushed back into the woods, sprinting ahead once more.

About a half hour later he emerged, once again, facing the cave. He delved back into the woods again only to find that again he got turned around and was faced with the cave. He did this over, and over, and over again -- more times than he could count. By the time he finally gave up, his scales were covered in grime and dirt, his body terribly wounded by a thousand little cuts.

He turned back to the trees and attempted to climb up one in a panic. He had to see further. As he tried to crawl up, however, he felt the whole thing shatter beneath him. It was all Amon could to to attempt to not be impaled by the crystal. Instead his good wing was run through, caught upon the crystal, effectively trapping him on the stump. He struggled to get it off, but ended up resolving to rip apart his wing in an attempt to escape.

This was going to be his deathbed, he was certain of it now. He was going to die to his wife’s hand just as he always expected to. Just as he always had. In the end he could only blame himself by not doing better by him. If only he had kept him safe, if only he had protected him like a good mate should have. It was his fault that Lucius was miscarried, for he should have been there when the angel was abducted. It was his fault that the apocalypse was unfurling how it was, he should have taken control and kept Akira from landing that punch. 

So much I could’ve, should’ve, would’ve… But now it was far too late. His chance to save his wife was coming to an end. He couldn’t even get past the first stage of the spire, the first room for which he knew was not the last. He let himself fall to the ground, apologies racing through his head. Regret overtaking him as he allowed himself to curl up. The darkness beginning to overtake him. How could he possibly save his wife when he couldn’t even reach him, he just wasn’t strong enough.

_ ‘Amon! I love you so much!’ _

_ ‘I love you too, Satan.’ _

_ Lucifer’s laugh was so beautiful, absolutely gorgeous. ‘I bet you can’t catch me!’ He sung in his happy tone, his beautiful white wings spreading out all around him. He took off into the sky, so free and perfect. Amon chased after without a second thought. They danced together, rushing through clouds and avoiding each other. The sparkling blue ocean manifested beneath them, the beasts of the sea lifting their heads to roar out into the sky before plunging back into the depths. Pure white sand returned to them soon after, followed by massive forests and jungles, plains and meadows, lakes and river beds. Teeming with life and love. _

_ Amon grabbed hold of his wife, Lucifer let out a cry of both joy and shock as he felt those arms wrap around him. They flew together, entangled and madly in love, holding onto each other as though they couldn’t stand to be separated. A gentle glide as the land came back to them. They landed happily, collapsing into the grass, giggling and laughing like children on a playground… But they weren’t children. They were anything but. They were escapees from worlds that no longer cared for them. _

_ “Kiss me and make me feel like I’m yours…” Lucifer asked the demon, to which he happily obliged. He always would… _

_ ~~ _

_ “What do you want to name the baby?” Amon asked him, running his fingers over Lucifer’s slightly swollen stomach. It was hardly noticeable, one would have to look for it in order to see the signs of a baby growing within him. “I’m not sure… I’m not very good at names.” The angel responded, a smile appearing on his lips as he ran his hands over the demon’s scaley back. “Well, whatever you decide to name them, I will be right here to support you.” Those words of reassurance truly did bring peace to the fallen angel. To say Lucifer was terrified was an understatement. _

_ Blue eyes followed white down to his stomach. “I’m scared, Amon… I’m scared of how much it’ll hurt. I’m scared of how dangerous it will be… But most of all I’m scared of losing them. I don’t want to let anyone down.” Amon hated to see Lucifer’s tears, that’s why when he smelled the salty fluid flowing down the blond’s cheek he was quick to begin kissing and brushing them away. “No… No you’ll do just fine. I will make sure nothing happens to you. We will take care of you and ensure that you will survive and that the baby survives. We will make do. Even if the baby doesn’t, there is nothing you could ever do to not be our Lord Satan.” He reassured, his words soft and gentle. _

_ Amon, the great demon warrior, the strongest of them all, was softened by Lucifer’s fear. Taking the angel’s hand in his own, he held it, pressing kisses all over the flesh. “You are our morning star, we could never hate you. Even if you burn away, or even if your light falters sometimes, we will always love you and look to you for guidance… Don’t ever forget that…” A soft sob escaped the angel as a smile graced his face. “I… How can you all love me so much? I don’t do anything?” Lucifer stated, biting his lip. It was a lie, judging by how Amon looked at him they both knew it. Amon raised his clawed hand and gently ran a thumb over the angel’s cheek, soothing him as best he could. _

_ “What are you talking about…? You freed me, you unified the demons, and you’re the only thing standing between us and Heaven. You do more than you could ever imagine… You are the Queen of Terra… You have taught us so many things. How to work together as a group, how to solidify a system of laws and practices, we now have what you call a ‘culture’. All because you decided to flee to our little world… Any ruler that would go and sit beside the dying so that they can die knowing that they aren’t alone is a good ruler in my opinion…” Amon explained to him, pulling the seraphim into his lap. _

_ His claws continued to ghost over the Irea’s stomach, it was so hard to believe that they were going to be parents of their own child. That in just eleven more months they would be raising a baby… Amon wondered what his mother was thinking of him right now, looking down upon him from the stars… Was she proud of them? _

Something was brushing up against his face, feathers… He could feel them stirring him from his sleep. White feathers, beautiful white feathers. “Lucifer!?” Amon gasped as he jolted upright. But it was not the devil sitting there… Sirene’s gaze was sorrowful but understanding from where she sat beside him. “Good morning…” She whispered to him, setting her clawed hand upon his forehead. She was relieved to see that the ‘fever’ that was blooming in the other had dissipated as soon as she got him out of that terrifying place of silence and monochrome.

“Sirene? Aren’t you dead?” The first question he asked, she nearly hit him on the head. He was always so… impolite at times. She supposed she couldn’t blame him. The only relationship of any kind Amon ever had with a woman was with his mother and they all knew how that went. Amon never felt truly comfortable about Sirene or Jenny, and she could understand that… They were competitors after all and Jenny was just terrifying in of herself. “Yes I’m dead… But Satan conjured me back up in here. Subconsciously, mind you…”

“I see… Than what are you doing here exactly?” Amon, ever the gentleman. He truly didn’t care for her in the moment, he just wanted to find his mate and rescue him. He just wanted to hold him close and ensure his safety and security. All of the extra stuff didn’t matter to him. “What? Did you think the young master truly wanted you to suffer? No… Of course he didn’t. He didn’t intend to put you here, this is just where you wound up. If you would have stayed where you were just a little longer I would have gotten you out of that hellish part of the Spire a long time ago.”

She pointed one of her talons to a crystal archway with a rippling wall in the middle. No doubt did that lead back into that silent pit. “That’s where you came from… I would advise not going back there.” She told him, rising to her feet. Amon did the same. “I wasn’t planning on it.” A smirk appeared on her features, beautiful golden eyes focused upon him with curiosity and questioning. “Than may I ask what are you planning on doing? Why did you come here?” She had a feeling she knew the reason, the fact of the matter, but wasn’t going to guess it. Hearing him disclose it was all the more proof… 

“I’m going to find Satan, I’m going to take him into my arms and I’m going to protect him from all the harm that may come to him. I’m going to be the mate I failed to be before.” There was silence between them for a while, she opened her mouth to speak before shutting it close once again. Nodding her head, she gestured for him to follow closely behind her. They began to make their way down a long dark hallway. “I will lead you to him… However I cannot enter his chamber myself… What is in there is not only disturbing but also not my place to see…”

He understood fully what she was saying… It made sense and to blame her for such a thing wouldn’t be correct at all. They walked down the halls, silently passing through the archways of crystal. 

As they walked he couldn’t help but take note at the devolving quality of the structure. Random sharp crystals jutted out of the ceiling at random intervals, sharp daggers that pierced the ground. Cracks began to form in the walling, revealing an ugly black ooze which seeped out. At first these occurrences were few and far between, but then as time went on, they became all too commonplace.

This was bearable until the wails began. In the far distance he could hear loud sobbing. Pained sobbing, the sobbing of someone so deep in the throes of pain and agony that they no longer could even have any semblance of self. “He’s been like this for all the years that this spire has been erected… I have yet to hear him laugh or show joy… This place has been dark and lonesome, his wails always echoing from this high up place.” They came to a winding staircase, not unlike the one Akira had climbed somewhere far away.

“Up here, he rests at the very top… don’t stop because the crying is getting closer. Keep climbing even if it means that you pass his sobs. Whether those are actually his cries or not is beyond me.” Amon had no idea what to say other than a simple “Thank you…” Even that, however, felt fake and untrue. She accepted it however, and as such he began his journey up the winding staircase. He went up a few steps, his ears assaulted by the sharp cracking of something changing. Turning around he saw that sharp pillars of crystal had since sealed him inside the stairway. Sirene stood on the other side, smiling at him sadly, before her visage vanished into the darkness of the Spire.

This was his fight to face alone, this was his final challenge. He didn’t know what she meant by ‘those cries may not be his’, he didn’t know what she meant by such words. But all the same he realized that it didn’t matter. He would reach the top and be with his love. Nothing would stop him this time, no doubt of insanity would lead him to falter or fall short…

His wounds ached as he climbed, but that didn’t matter, he climbed on. He didn’t care about the blood that oozed down his flesh, he didn’t care about the gashes for which those crystal flowers made. All he cared about was the love of his life who was at the top of the stairs. At some moments he would sprint up the stairs, charging up and up… Other moments, however, he would meander up, too tired to keep sprinting. No matter what, however, he never stopped climbing.

The wailing grew louder and louder as he climbed. Windows manifested on the walls, lumiflies dropped from the ceiling and flew around him. Some collided with his body and he found that the purple powder would be absorbed into his body and heal his wounds. Lucifer didn’t mean to hurt him, he didn’t mean to cause him harm, but it was just how the dice were rolled. As per usual, Lucifer could not stand to let Amon suffer through the consequences he so rightly deserved. Just like Amon couldn’t possibly let Lucifer do that now. He charged up the stairs, grabbing onto Lumiflies to heal his injuries and exhaustion.

Windows appeared in the walls and upon peering out of them he saw nothing but desolation. The outside world was being absorbed in the crystals. The end of days was here. The final purge. No devilmen remained, the demons were gone, the entire world was being wiped clean. He could see the land splitting and magma beginning to erupt from it. Spurting out like blood from the Earth’s core. This was the end…

He continued to run up the stairs, the wails getting progressively louder and louder. That was definitely his wife, he knew the voice anywhere. He was getting closer and closer to him. He was nearing his chambers. Step after step. Crystal after crystal. Lumifly after Lumifly. He would reach the top! He could reach as high as he could! Nothing was going to stop him.

_ ‘What should we name the baby?’ _

He felt tears flood his eyes, for once he was going to see him. For once he was going to actually hold him. For the first time in thousands of years he’s actually going to be able to embrace the love of his life. Pushing higher and higher, he finally saw the end. By the time he reached the top, he was panting and exhausted. Pressing his body against the crystal door he allowed for himself to catch his breath, painfully aware that the sobbing had stopped. A new noise filled his ears.

Singing… 

_ ‘Hush-a-bye… Don't you cry… Go to sleep, my little baby… When you wake, you shall have… All the pretty little horses… Dapples and grays, blacks and bays… All the pretty little horses… Hush-a-bye, Don't you cry… Go to sleep little baby… When you wake, you shall have… All the pretty little horses… Dapples and grays, blacks and bays… All the pretty little horses…’ _

That was Lucifer’s voice, he recognized it. But why had he stopped crying? Why was he suddenly singing? Carefully he grabbed the door knob and turned it, not wanting to bust the door down and startle the angel. The door opened with ease, but remained quiet. He was greeted to a room that was completely different from the rest of the Spire. There was actual furniture here, actual walling and flooring, it was an actual bedroom.

The door closed noiselessly behind him, trapping him within the room, not that he minded. There was soft carpet beneath his feet. Wallpaper covered the walls in patterns of little bunny rabbits jumping all about. He didn’t understand it but having lived within Akira’s body he knew what this entailed. A curtain was before him, obscuring the rest of the room. He gently pulled it aside to see… 

The room changed completely. The cave was what greeted him. The nest he had built for them so long ago was where he found his wife.

Silence fell over the world in that moment as he saw the small child sleeping on his chest. Lucifer ran his petite fingers through Lucius’ short black hair. Scales, black as night, covered the baby’s abdomen very similarly to how his Irea’s feathers did his own. Twin bat-like wings sprouted from his back, but they were folded close to his body. Amon’s eyes widened, unsure of what to make of the scene before him.

“Satan?” He whispered, to which the angel looked up to the demon and smiled. He gently nudged the baby awake. The child babbled a bit in protest before growing lucid. “Lucius… Baby… Daddy’s home…” The baby chirped and babbled happily. Yet he was too terribly sleepy to stay awake. As such he simply nodded right back off to sleep. Amon felt tears sting his eyes, he knew this was just a dream but he didn’t care. This was his family… The family they tried so hard to have.

He made his way over to the nest, crawling in happily and pulling Lucifer close to him before showering his face with a million kisses and licks. Signs of affection as he felt the warmth bubble up inside of him. “I missed you… I missed you so much, Lucifer.” He spoke, a sob on his voice. Never before has he ever felt such happiness. This may have been false, none of this may be real, but he didn’t care. He was with his family.

“I missed you too, Amon… Thank you…” After a moment of reuniting, Lucifer offered for Amon to hold his son. It was a mimicry of the baby they were going to have, but it was theirs nonetheless. The demon happily cradled the baby in his hold, happy when those beautiful blue eyes opened and stared up at him. So bright, so full of life, so absolutely perfect… 

Nothing could possibly ever rival Amon’s love for his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end of the chapter is a clear illusion. The baby doesn't actually exist, this paradise doesn't exist. It's the dream life that Lucifer and Amon wish to live however -- and now they are just waiting for Akira to find them too.


	65. The Spire Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter of the Spire mini arc -- Akira makes his push to find Satan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The versions of Ryo you see in this story are as follows in this exact order: Crybaby > Cyborg 009 > Manga > Amon > OVA. Since every variation that has Ryo in it is also canon by this story's sake to a degree, being treated all as separate time loops, each different design of Ryo and Akira exist simultaneously. While I do prefer the OVA Ryo's design in writing the story, that design is only one version among the many.

The stairs reached up endlessly into the void above him. He ascended further and further into the spire, Sirene’s words remaining in his mind as he did so. The climb was exhausting and only furthered his fear and concern, what was he to expect at the top? What type of hellish place awaited for him? The world grew colder and colder, a stark contrast from the heated cathedral that awaited him through a solid wall of crystal. There was no going back now… Truly he could not turn back. He was sealed within the spire whether he liked it or not.

He emerged from the staircase to find a long hallway made of crystal. This hallway went on for what looked to be forever, stretching on endlessly. Stepping into it he saw that there were many other hallways branching off in all sorts of different directions. It was then he realized he had encountered a maze. Placing his hand upon the right wall, he figured that eventually he will get out if he just kept following it. His mother always said that was the way out if he ever got stuck in one of those places… Just keep following the right wall-- don’t let your hand leave it for one second.

The crystal felt cold under his fingertips. It had an eerie flatness that he wasn’t sure what to feel about. Everything about it felt unnatural… Almost as though this couldn’t have been real.  _ ‘Of course it wasn’t real!’ _ He chided himself,  _ ‘this is all part of Satan’s mind games! He trapped you in here so you’d suffer! Don’t lose your cool!’ _ That was what happened wasn’t it? That’s what this was all about, this was all about Satan gaining control and submission of his mind! 

If that was the case than he was going to fight against it with all of his might! He wasn’t going to let him take control!

A gentle tug on his sleeve caught his attention. He whirled around to see the skirt of a white dress disappear around the corner. Confused he ran after it, only to see that it had completely vanished. An illusion perhaps? It had to be… Turning back on his heel he proceeded down the hall he came from, moving a bit faster now. He found himself paralyzed again, however, as he heard a soft giggle. He recognized that giggle far too well -- that was Ryo’s voice!

He looked around quickly, unable to see anyone in sight. Yet he was certain he heard that giggle, and he was certain that it was right by his ear. “Akira come play with me!” A call from the far end of the hallway. He turned his attention to it only to see a shadow of… something. It dashed across quickly. Was that… him? It was him! It was him as a child! “I’m coming, Ruu!” His child self called back.

What the hell was this!? Running up to that end, he peered down the connecting hallway he found himself in. No children anywhere to be seen. Not a single soul. He began to move down the connecting hall, peering down each individual passageway he found himself facing. When he reached a dead end with no children in sight, he decided to turn around. He felt his body hit something hard as he began walking. He looked at what was obstructing his path. “A wall?” This certainly wasn’t here before. He ran his fingers over the cool and smooth surface, but it would not yield. This had not been there quite literally five seconds ago, how has this happened?

Turning back around he could see that the space before him had changed too. No longer was he in a space with hallways and doors… That had long since transformed into a church not unlike the one he had started out in. This time, however, there was no crystal structure reaching up into the sky, nor were the pews empty. The colorless room was filled with colorless skeletons who all read colorless bibles adorned by colorless ink.

Their heads lulled pathetically, rocking side to side as the ‘wind’ blew them. Their bones rattled in the breeze, making it sound almost as though it was raspy breathing escaping invisible lungs. Gazing further down the aisle he could see a skeleton in preacher clothes. Webbing was the only thing keeping him upright. Webbing of spider silk which had wrapped around their form in such a way that he was able to remain standing. When the wind blew it gave him a sort of lifelike animation. Movement that wasn’t normal or ordinary by the standards of the dead.

Akira carefully approached, put on edge by the scene. Silence, completely silence. He nearly jumped four feet off the ground as a sudden rattling sound came upon him. Turning his head he saw that one of the skeletons had finally fallen. It’s body now lay in the aisle, staring blankly up at him. Empty sockets void of any life whatsoever… Yet he felt as though there were eyes staring at him from within the darkness.

He stepped over the bones carefully, only to find that more rattling sounds persisted. A cry as all the skeletons in the room began to fall and topple. Some of them even falling apart as their bones no longer had the fibers to hold them together. They scattered all about the room making a floor of white calcium enriched pieces. Akira’s entire form was tense, a giggle from behind the ‘pastor’ didn’t help.

He saw Ryo peek his head out from around the corpse… But it wasn’t any version of Ryo he could remember. He knew the face, and he knew the eyes, but his hair was so much different. The only way Akira could describe him is looking straight out of a k-pop band. “Didn’t like that I guess?” He laughed before running off through a door on the far right of the room. Akira followed suit but found that his foot got caught on one of the many bones. For a second he thought one of the skeletons had grabbed ahold of him but it just wasn’t the case. Akira fell face first down onto the ground.

He looked to his foot, seeing that he had just gotten caught, and began to wriggle himself free. He followed the boy in the long white nightgown. It was flowing, beautiful, and even ghostly in a way. It made him look almost as though he were from a horror movie. Akira ran as fast as he could after him, but somehow the older managed to stay just out of reach. Eventually he grew too tired and couldn’t keep up, finding himself in a new place without any knowledge as to where he was in relation to anything else.

He began to walk again, coming to a dead end where he could either turn left or right. Doors were at the end of each passage. As he looked to the left he heard a door open, causing him to turn his attention to the right. As he began to approach the door slammed shut, followed by an audible giggle on the other side. What sort of joke was this!? What was Ryo getting at!?

Akira ran to the door, pushing it open with all of his force, only to find that he was outside… Or at least he was in a place that looked to be outside. Crystal platforms levitated in the air. A drop was easily perceived as orange clouds, tinted by the sunset, rushed past beneath them. The moon was full as it hung above them, Aotz’s eye staring down upon them as though judging their decisions in that moment. A familiar figure jumped from the ledge over to the platform gracefully.

That wasn’t the Ryo he just saw, nor the Ryo he was familiar with, but it was Ryo all the same. He was taller here. He looked much older and much more lanky as he moved from platform to platform. Jumping and bounding without issue, almost like a dancer. He was all too experienced in what he was doing and all the same he managed to land on his toes before simply bounding over to the next platform. He was a ghost in every sense of the word. There was no question about it. Part of Akira was even questioning whether or not what he was seeing was actually real, or just an illusion.

Akira followed, truly believing that all these different versions of the boy he once knew would lead him to the true king of this labyrinth. He bounded from ledge to ledge, not nearly as gracefully as Ryo had been doing moments prior. However, he had undershot one of his jumps. His foot slipped and he let out a shriek as he began to plummet down to an unknown Earth. “Akira!” That voice filled his ears. He watched as the cloud cover got closer and closer, he was going to break through and see the bottom--

He stopped. Looking up, he saw the ghost of Lucifer there. His beautiful wings were so large, big blue eyes filled with concern and worry. He didn’t know what to make of it at all. He especially didn’t know what to make of it when the angel simply dropped him off on the other side of the ravine he was working towards. Only to turn back into that same Ryo he saw moments before. Once that was accomplished, the chase was back on, and the boy was off once again, not even waiting for Akira to catch his breath.

“Why did he save me…?” Akira questioned, furrowing his brow as he watched the other disappear back inside. It didn’t make sense to him that the other would rescue him like that. Didn’t he want him dead? Wasn’t the whole point of this to kill him? Obviously not if he’s not dead already… Could it possibly be that these individuals he was witnessing were simply just fragments of Ryo’s mind trying to guide him back to the whole? Was that what was going on here? Were they guiding him to Satan?

Enough waiting, he would catch up with Ryo. Working his way back to his feet, he ran as hard as he could to enter the spire once again. He followed his gut, knowing full well that if he strayed away from where he was supposed to go he’d most likely be ushered back in the right direction or would be brought right back to where he started. No harm, no foul, eventually he’d make it to Satan.

A tug on his sleeve proved his theory.

He whirled around to see a version of Ryo that was much younger looking than the one he was familiar with and the ones he has encountered since. He followed after him, attempting to grab at him first but only being met with empty air. Akira gave chase until he came to a set of stairs. The blond slammed the door as he ran up them, separating the former devilman from the staircase. He was getting frustrated now as he pulled and pushed against it. Eventually it broke off. Up he climbed once again, now finding himself in a mock-up of Ryo’s old mansion.

His heart sank as he thought about what terrible things he’d find here… He was deep inside Ryo’s subconscious, part of him knew that this was where all those terrible memories slumbered. “Don’t go into any of the doors.” A voice spoke up from the shadows beside him. He turned to look, only to watch a much older version of the Ryo he knew run down the hall. He looked feverishly and anxiously between the doors, before turning back to the dark haired boy. “This place is horrible… Bad memories sleep here…”

Silence fell between them, the carpet felt welcoming, the wallpaper felt normal, everything felt better here and yet at the same time there as a tension in the air. A scream came from one of the rooms. Akira couldn’t help himself as he reached for the door knob. “No don’t!” As soon as the door opened, he saw that version of Ryo dissolve into sand and vanish.

Woodlands… What he saw was the incident where the blond was being attacked by those boys from his school. Terror struck him and before even a scrap of clothing could be torn from Ryo’s form, he slammed the door shut. He was painfully aware of the memory… Even though he didn’t see it explicitly he knew what he saw and was disgusted. If he had anything in his stomach he was sure he would have thrown it up.

He proceeded, only falling into the same trap a second time.

The scream was heart wrenching, what he opened the door to this time was Ryo walking in on his father with his dead animals all over the place. “John!” The blond cried. Akira was frozen and couldn’t close the door until he saw the man come charging at the other. These were only the first of many doors… How many doors were there? He went to another and threw it open only to find that Ryo was laying in a bathtub full of water letting himself bleed out into the water. His wrists gushing, staining the porcelain rim.

Once more the door slammed closed and Akira became painfully aware of what Ryo meant when he said he had every reason to hate humanity. He crumpled to the ground, letting himself sink down there. His body trembled as tears overflowed in his eyes. What was he supposed to say? Part of him wanted to forgive Ryo for what was done, but the other part of him knew that there was no possible way he could get over what happened to Miki and the Makimuras.

Once he collected himself, he turned to face the stairway that was at the end of the hallway. Satan was up there, he knew he was up there. His mission was to go up there and fight him even if it meant he would die. But now… does he really want to? He understood why he killed all of humanity now, did it really matter that he exposed him? Thinking about it now, he had to admit that Ryo had every reason to believe that humans would turn against him, and he was correct even to try it. He felt that even if the blond had said he kept his human heart, nobody would care.

Taking a deep breath, Akira rose to his feet. This was the final push into the spire. He had to make it count. He needed to get out of here and either be laid down to die, or find out what’s really happening here. He got into his running position, one that he hardly remembered… Those days of running track and field were so long ago. He could vaguely remember it all.

Off he went, as fast as he could, his legs pounding, as he ran up the stairs. He refused to let himself grow tired even as his muscles ached and his lungs burned. His face grew red and puffy as he pushed onward, sweat dripping down his face. He had to make it higher and higher. He had to reach the chambers. He had to see what was happening. Nothing was going to stop him this time.

The end was in sight, he could see it, a grin spread across his face as he neared the upper landing. Just a little further, just a bit more. His foot landed upon the floor and he found himself frozen in place. Panting and breathless, he felt like his whole world was blurring in and out. It was there one minute, gone the next. How far had he travelled, all in one go. The terrifying journey was one he never expected… 

Truly what had happened to his best friend--

No… not best friend. His worst enemy.

A gentle sobbing came from the other side of the door. One that he never expected to hear. In the far distance, however, he could hear singing. He had heard it on his way up but it had since disappeared entirely. Pushing the door open he found… Ryo. The Ryo he knew, the Ryo whom he was familiar with. He wore that white gown that he saw at the beginning and sat staring into one of those rippling walls.

On the other side he could see… the devil and Amon. They were playing with a baby. Akira was shocked at how happy they looked. Closing the door behind him he approached carefully, becoming more and more aware of the blond’s sobbing. Seeing Lucifer and Ryo in the same room together, it made him wonder if maybe his initial belief of them being separated was truly what he thought it was… Perhaps they really were one and the same if they both were sitting here, together, in a mind space facing two completely different realities. It hurt him only slightly to know he was the reality that was painful for the devil.

“Ryo…?” Akira asked, curiously, shocked when the blond whirled around. There was panic in his expression as tears stained his entire face. He worked feverishly to brush them away. “Akira! I-- I’m sorry you weren’t…” He sniffled trying his best to make himself presentable, but it was far too late for that. Silence fell between them for a while, Akira approached realizing that perhaps a fight now wasn’t feasible… Ryo was not going to punch back like this.

He sat down on the same ledge, only a bit away from Ryo. There as a distance between them, but not one that couldn’t be bridged. “What is this?” Akira inquired, not making eye contact, feeling as though it was just going to make the other feel worse. He wanted the tears to stop before he succumbed to them as well. “It’s Amon’s dream… And a dream I had too… I thought that if you two aren’t going to come with me into utopia than I’d at least give you what you want…” The explanation made sense, but it wasn’t one that he really wanted to hear.

“He wanted a family with you?” Akira asked, he knew the answer, he heard Amon talk about it. But all the same, he wanted to hear it come from Ryo’s mouth. “Yeah… I think… We lost our baby so long ago… I just wish I could be over there experiencing it with you too.” That admittance was a shock. With him? Why would he want him to be there too? “What do you mean with me too?” The former devilman inquired, looking over to Ryo only to see a faint smile there.

“Because regardless of everything I still love you more than anything, Akira… You could beat me down, spit on me, call me terrible names, yet I don’t think I could ever truly stop loving you… You’re the only human being that ever showed kindness to me… Everyone else turned their backs on me, but you. You were different. You saw past everything and showed me that love does exist.”

A pause of silence, before Akira continued. He didn’t want to ask this question but he wouldn’t ever find peace unless he did. He had to know what happened. “Why did you do what you did than? If you truly love me, than why did you stab me in the back.” A choked sob escaped Ryo, something that shocked him. When he brought it up he expected rage, not for the other to break down more. He expected for the blond to grow defensive, aggressive, and prideful but that’s not what happened.

“I wanted you to see how awful humanity was… I wanted you to see that they didn’t want you as part of them, they would never accept you if they knew. I was so determined to do it until I started having doubts during the escort over to the station. I realized, as I was sitting in front of those cameras, that I didn’t want to do it anymore. I chickened out, but in doing so, I left an opening. Jenny took it. I didn’t want to do it Akira, I knew this would happen if I did. I didn’t foresee that humanity would lash out on your family either… I did not predict that. It’s my fault, I’m so sorry.”

Akira was in shock. When he first entered the spire he was certain that no matter what Ryo said he would believe him to be guilty but now, as he sat there, hearing his story part of him began to doubt that judgement. He could see by how emotional and vulnerable the blond was showing himself to be that he truly meant it. He wept into his own hands, a broken human with a shattered sense of identity.

“Why did you decide to end the world like this…? Why did you do all those things in the bible…?” Akira asked, now just trying to get used to the idea of his former best friend, his former boyfriend, being the devil. “And… what happened to Ryo Asuka?” That last question stung, but yet he felt that if the other couldn’t answer it than he was certainly going to snap out of whatever spell the other was putting on him. He was positive that it would cause for this entire illusion to break.

“I just wanted my home back. I fought so hard for it, I protected it and cultivated it, it was a paradise. But then humanity came along and not only hurt me, but also hurt this planet. I just sped up the process… Humans were going to kill themselves with climate change if I didn’t intervene.” Ryo explained, something Akira knew to be true. He had seen the studies and was surprised that the world hadn’t kicked them to the curb sooner.

“As for the bible… That was all myth… I don’t remember anything that happened… Every encounter with ‘Satan’, me, that never happened. Maybe it was some demon or fallen angel or who knows but I know for a fact it was not me. I have been stuck in this terrible punishment since the Mesozoic era. I haven’t been able to break free until recently… I’m just… not willing to without you…” He admitted it, he admitted he was dragging it on. He knew he had the power, now, to bring back every soul that was lost but all the same he wanted for Akira to come with him on this endeavor.

“As for Ryo Asuka…” Akira leaned forward expectantly, his attention enthralled by how the other’s voice trembled. He was positive he had gotten a checkmate… But that’s not what happened. “Ryo and Lucifer are one and the same. We are the same person… There is no differentiation. The only thing missing is that a good handful of memories and powers were suppressed. If I knew I had the power all along I would have done this much sooner, there is no lie about that. There is no difference. There is no lying there is no false identity… We are the same person.”

He was stunned, he didn’t want to believe it, and yet looking at the other it only made it more true. Ryo was telling the truth in all forms. He found himself enraptured in silence, unsure of what to say or do. “Now what…?” Akira inquired, now feeling so utterly worthless and pointless. His entire desire to fight had evaporated and watching Amon and Lucifer play with their baby made him realize just how selfish he was being.

How selfish both of them were being… 

“I know it’ll be hard… But can you ever find it in your heart to forgive me…?” Ryo asked softly, Akira wasn’t sure that was an answer to his question but he supposed it was as good of an answer he could get. He held no more resentment towards him, just an empty void. A warmth bubbled up inside of him as he watched that family on the other side of the wall play. He found that he truly did wish to live that life. He reached his hand out to Ryo and took it, gripping it tightly.

“Yeah… I think I can. I think I can love you again… Just give me time.”

He was surprised when he felt the other embrace him so tightly that the air was knocked out of him. Akira coughed, returning the embrace. It felt like such a weight was being lifted off of him. He had spent so long holding a grudge that he forgot how good it felt to care for someone again, and to accept that care from someone else.

Light… The crystals began to glow and shake and tremble. The entire spire was beginning to crumble, the entire world was falling to ruin. But Akira wasn’t afraid. He trusted Ryo, Lucifer, whatever his name was. He trusted him to protect him and keep him safe as the sky fell over them. The structure fell all around them, that visage of the family disappeared, it didn’t take long for his whole world to go dark.

Lucifer opened his eyes to find that he was somewhere completely different. A single rocky outpost upon a world of magma. The entire planet was destroyed… Soon the surface will harden again and he could start anew with his world. There was no remnant of the Spire left save for a few scattered remains of the crystals. Looking around, he searched desperately for Akira. It didn’t take long for him to see the body of the devilman rising up from the rocky ground, just as confused as him. Lucifer’s eyes lit up, how happy he was! How overjoyed he felt in that moment!

“Akira! Amon!” He cried out, catching their attention. Akira got up to his feet and began to sprint over the short distance to the angel. They had finally done it -- they had finally reached a happy end! This was it! “Ryo!” An embrace, they were going to hug and it’d be--

A sudden force knocked Lucifer to the ground. His eyes widened as he felt hot blood pour down the front of him. He would’ve thought it was his own if not for the distinct lack of pain and for the fact the blood was a yellow-orange color. “What?” He gasped out, his hand reaching down to try and figure out what happened, only to find that the younger’s legs were completely absent from his body.

“Akira!?” Lucifer cried, pulling the torso away from him. A little means away he saw the other’s lower half, he would’ve ran to it if not for the fact that a familiar figure towered over it, sword drawn. “Akira!? Akira no! Akira don’t die on me!” The angel screamed, laying down the devilman and holding his face in his hands. However life was fading fast, he could see it.

“No! No! No! Please don’t! Please! You have to stay with me! Don’t leave me here by myself! I love you Akira! I love you Amon!” The glow in their eyes had long since gone, death had taken him and Lucifer found himself hunched over the body sobbing. He lifted the head to his breasts and cradled him there, sobbing loudly before crying out in a heavy wail of pure agony… 

** _“AKIRA!”_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter of the timeloop arc and also the last chapter of the Halloween event. Thank you all for making it this far. I can't thank you enough. There will be a small hiatus from Eden for a few days/weeks (as per usual) and then we will be back on track and going into the Hell arc. If you guys are liking Eden please tell me your opinions in the comments! I'd love to hear them!


	66. Crybaby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer attempts to get revenge for Akira's death, the other angels argue among themselves about the situation at hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize that this chapter is so short -- it is an in between chapter and as such it doesn't hold as much meat to it. We are starting the Hell Arc next.

He could feel the gore staining his plumage. The feathers stuck together and clumped in the mess. The faint orange hue blurred into the destroyed world. The cliff for which Lucifer found himself on was simply a patch of igneous rock far too elevated above the molten surface to be affected by his own destruction. The fallen angel cradled Akira close to his chest, not completely registering how cold he had become in comparison to the burning hot world around him. The sun was missing in the sky, dark plumes of volcanic ash eclipsed the sky. Patches opened up briefly, but just as quick as they appeared, the smoke ate it up once again… The atmosphere was on it’s quick transformation into nothing… Soon the world would be completely uninhabitable, ready for his hand to craft it into something more… A sandbox for his imagination. However, what is the point of living in this new world if Akira wasn’t there to stand by his side.

Demons would come back, they would be reborn just as they always had… But Akira was human -- humans, when they are reborn, forget everything. He couldn’t let something like that happen. Lucifer squeezed the corpse of the human boy tightly, his heart sinking lower and lower as his mind grew wilder and wilder. Who did this? This couldn’t have been a freak accident… This time it wasn’t him, this time he had succeeded -- so who was the culprit that committed this atrocity. 

Blue eyes scanned the area and fell upon a familiar figure. He knew that stance better than anyone. That hair, that figure, that armor… A low growl erupted from his throat, teeth bared, as the demonic side of him came forth. “You fucking bitch!” Lucifer let Akira fell to the ground as he rushed towards the archangel. Michael ducked out of the way, Ryo saw his lips moving but heard nothing come out of them.

He charged at him again, this time too fast for the armored angel to dodge. He attempted to swing his sword towards the seraphim, only to find that one of the six wings was quick to block, feathers hardened naturally to effectively defend himself from the blow. Sharp nails burrowed into Michael’s armor and flesh. Black blood was thrown into the air, droplets which stained the already black igneous rock for which they stood upon.

“Lucifer!” A familiar voice called, but he couldn’t remember where from. Hands had grabbed hold of his wings, pulling him off of Michael. Another angel, Gabriel judging by the hair, was quick to the criminal’s side. He tried to tend to him as best he could, but then again Gabriel was just a mere guardian. He hadn’t the skills for tending to the injured. Lucifer whirled around as he felt his body continued to be pulled away from his revenge. He felt a burn as his fist connected with the bridge of Uriel’s nose, sending the dominion rocking back and falling to the ground. Blood gushed from the angel’s face, oozing from between his fingers and pooling on the ground.

Lucifer attempted to return to his attack, when two hands settled upon his temples. He struggled against them until he made eye contact with Azrael. He knew it was hypnotism the second his world began to grow dark, but by that point the miracle had taken affect. The angel was out like a light, collapsed onto the ground, unconscious and in a deep slumber. He would be out for at least three hours, so they had time.

“What the hell, Michael!?” Azrael shouted, turning to face the archangel who was in absolutely horrid condition. “With what you did, I should have let him rip you to shreds! How could you do that to him! I understand your hatred for Lucifer, but did the human truly deserve this!?” She gestured towards Akira, watching as Raphael moved over to her injured twin brother. The disgust on the virtue’s face was obvious -- he hated blood. An irony that normally she’d be humored by.

“We must make sacrifices in order to keep evil at bay.” Michael argued back, spitting blood onto the ground. “The only evil I see here is you, Michael!” Raphael shouted, something out of character for the petite virtue. A stunned silence filled the world, the natural sound of heat being the only thing filling the air. For a world so dead, it truly was loud. “H-How am I evil?” Michael inquired, trying not to show how much the comment hurt him inside.

“Well you broke your promise to God, there’s the first thing and then--” Azrael began before she found she was abruptly cut off. Her body tensed as she heard what Uriel had to say. “Then you killed your own son! Don’t you think killing Tabris the past hundred or so times would be enough!? Why couldn’t you be satisfied with torturing your charge and son for the given time!” The angel of death looked to the angel of time, eyes wide. Raphael had even frozen in his tending.

Did he really just say that?

Looking back to Michael, the archangel was paralyzed. Eyes wide and expression pale despite the specks of black all over his form. “T-Tabris? Wh-What do you mean?” He stuttered out, looking over to Gabriel who seemed just as confused. “I reincarnated Tabris into Akira, knowing full well that the only person capable of housing someone who loved Lucifer as much as Amon would be him. We wanted him to be happy when this moment came! We knew that Tabris would be the only person that would definitely be able to love Lucifer as much as Amon.”

The regret that made itself present on Michael’s face was painful to witness. He looked over to the corpse of the human, but his pride was stronger than his sorrow. In the end he didn’t do anything more. Silence fell upon them for a while. Gabriel wrapped his wings around the elder angel, an attempt to comfort him.

“I suppose… that I should let Lucifer live his life here on this ugly place… But if he comes back to Heaven I will kill him without a second thought.” Michael stated, before he tried to get to his feet. It was time for him to go. Angels began to descend from the clouds, they were on standby waiting for the signal -- a single ball of light sent into the sky via one of the archangel’s feathers. They began to support their leader and guide him back to Heaven where he can recover properly, leaving Azrael, Uriel, and Raphael alone on the decimated planet… 

“We better get out of here.” Raphael stated, helping Uriel to his feet. “I think I’ll stay… The child needs to know how to get to Hell. That’s where he will find his kingdom which was gifted to him, as well as be able to recover the souls of his love.” Azrael stated, smiling to her small family. “Are you sure, sister?” The question was flat, Uriel knew he wouldn’t be able to stop her. “Go home… Both of you… get some rest…” The highest angel had spoken, the oldest primary. They couldn’t really say no to her, even if they knew she wouldn’t be angry with them if they did.

When she was alone, Azrael approached Lucifer and sat beside him. Plucking one of her feathers she set it in the bridge between a pair of his wings. It glowed for a while before a light began to work its way over the seraphim’s body. All the gore, dirt, grime, everything began to evaporate off of him. He was cleaned, any wounds were sealed, he was completely restored back to peak form.

If she was being honest, Azrael felt awful about this whole situation. Lucifer didn’t deserve what happened to him, but all the same she couldn’t stop them. At least now it was over. At least now he could work towards a better future. He had ‘atoned’ for the sins he carried, sins that she didn’t believe exist at all. If only he knew why God let this happen… If only he knew his true purpose.

Maybe then things would have been better… 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From this point on chapters will be reduced to approximately one a week -- now that Halloween is over and all! Thank you all for the lovely ride! That event was so much fun for me even if it was extremely exhausting. From now until December 13th (which may be the start of the Christmas event, I haven't decided) we are going to have at least one chapter a week! I am excited to continue on this amazing story!


	67. Entrance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer descends into Hell to begin his journey to save Akira.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The model for Hell is often times stolen from Dante's 'The Divine Comedy' -- I took a different approach. I used some ideas from Dante's works, yes, but at the same time Hell in this fic is much different from Hell in many other works. Regardless i hope you like it -- if you don't let me know because if I'm being honest this chapter took me so long because I couldn't figure out how to illustrate this first circle.

When Azrael told him that he had to go to Hell to retrieve Akira, that it was in fact possible to resurrect him, his first question was how he would get there. He had never been to Hell before, never had the ability to descend due to lack of miracles and simply his own lack of knowledge. Up until this point he was pretty certain that Hell didn’t truly exist, that it was simply a ruse created by Angels to separate it from Heaven. That was until he plucked one of his many feathers and created the endless pit.

The igneous rock seemed to have a gaping mouth in its surface, one that swallowed up all the light around it… What little light there actually was that is. Little rocks protruded from the walls of the pit. Carefully he set his bare foot upon it. The stone was cold, something unexpected for the wasteland he was about to enter into. So many people thought of fire and brimstone but this? This made him think of ice and snow.

The stones that reached out from the walls, they held fast underneath his feet. He descended quickly, but maintained caution. One step at a time. As he descended Lucifer eventually found himself completely eclipsed in darkness. He couldn’t see a thing, as such he’d rather not go jumping into the abyss. That and he was certain he’d scrape his wings on the way down with how close together these stairs were. He kept his hand on the wall, making sure he was hugging it as he descended. Feeling every turn and increment and adjusting himself accordingly.

A faint reddish glow eventually came to him, little orbs floated gingerly around him. They were faint twinkles at first, extinguishing as quickly as they came, but eventually they grew brighter and brighter until eventually they were massive fire balls glowing as bright as a torch. Their heat was comforting and yet terrifying.

Lucifer made sure to keep his distance from the creatures. He didn’t feel like dealing with them in the moment. As such he continued to descend the stairs. Exhaustion never came to him, his muscles never ached, his form never became tired. He just descended further into the abyss. Seconds grew into minutes. Minutes into hours. Hours into days. He would count the seconds, but he’d always get lost after he reached three hours time. Yet the time blurred together, it was as if he was in a place where time didn’t matter… 

Time was different here.

“Maybe if I just jump I’ll get there faster…” Lucifer mused out loud as an orb of light passed him by. He wasn’t paying much attention to where he was going anymore. He didn’t notice the glow that was beginning to manifest under his feet. He simply trudged onward. Eventually the red orbs disappeared, they faded away and became more and more infrequent. It wasn’t until the last turn that the angel realized that the spiraling staircase was coming to an end. He could now see the world ahead.

A bridge. He was on a thin bridge now as he stepped off the staircase. Lucifer fluttered his wings instinctively as he stepped on. It creaked beneath his meager weight. Giant pillars of rock rose from the abyss below, a fog obscuring the eventual bottom. He wondered what was down there, if he’d want to know. A noise erupted from the abyss, a screech that showed there was life down there… But a life he wasn’t sure he wanted to bare witness to in this exact moment.

Instead he just kept on moving. Walking upon the endless bridge above a terrifying abyss. He wondered, for a while, if he’d be walking the same distance here as well. If his journey was just simply going to be an eternity. His wings itched for flight, but all the same something was arguing against him for it. Something warned him that the skies were just as dangerous as the pit below.

An island… A suspended mass. He could see it up ahead. He picked up his pace, but was careful not to fall into a run or a sprint. This was it! This was the end of his troubles! He moved quicker and quicker, faster and faster, approaching the island up ahead. He wasn’t sure what was there, but a sense of hope filled him. This would be the start of a new adventure for him, a new chapter of his life. He had to reach it.

When his foot settled upon the island for the first time, everything in his body shifted. His haze was gone, the fog that clouded his mind had long since evaporated. But that didn’t mean there was peace. He only became more aware of the place he was in at that moment. The endless pit beneath him, the void above him, the sound of what he could only describe to be distortion. Nothing was right here, but yet everything felt all too natural.

Blades of grass brushed against his bare legs. Looking down upon them he was hoping to see green, or green stained black, but that’s not what he saw. At first it all blended together, a thick carpet of what he thought was snow. But that just wasn’t the case. No… this was grass. But it was grass for which had grown pure white. He bent down and plucked a blade, inspecting it more closely. How could this be? Was it that the plants down here in hell used something different than chloroplast? Is that what it is? It seemed feasible enough… After all there was no sun down here.

“Oi! Who are you!?” Lucifer’s head picked up at the voice, finding that he had been approached by many… entities. They looked like the stereotypical demon. They weren’t the monsters that he knew in the mesozoic era, these were different. They were more humanoid, they stood mostly on two legs, and outside of slight differences such as extra limbs or fewer limbs, they tended to look almost identical. It was jarring in a way. But their scent definitely had demon in it… and their language matched it as well. These were demons, but not the kind he was familiar with.

“I am the great demon lord, Lucifer. Former Queen of Terra and soon-to-be ruler of Hell.” The angel explained, standing proudly as he did way back when. His wings spread out behind him like a beautiful fan, he looked almost like a peacock. Despite his intimidating display, the demons before him only seemed to laugh. “You’re not Lucifer.” A massive orc like creature proclaimed. “Lucifer is in the 10th circle already. He is quite the beast we must say. Lucifer would never be this pretty.”

Blue eyes widened. “Excuse me?” The angel asked, a sharp frown coming across his features. “So it is my understanding that someone is impersonating me then?” He bared his teeth in a threat towards the group, sharp fangs exposed and a low growl coming from him. “Oh so you want a fight?” An obvious succubus began with a giggle, her bat like wings fluttering. “If you’re the real Lucifer than you won’t have any problem with taking us down right? Go on. Kill us!”

It was a blink of an eye. Lucifer charged forward with wings spread, grabbing hold of the succubus. His fingernails dug into her arm, his feet pressing against her rib cage. Push and pull, with a sickening rip her arm came clean off. The flesh tearing like thin strands. Before any hands could grab him to retaliate, his wings carried him up into the sky. The angel, coated in yellow, grinned as he held the arm. “And to think I fought a war to save your sorry asses. Truly a waste of space.” He let the arm drop to the ground, the demons stood around in shock, they had never seen such blinding speed before.

“A war? There was no war?” The succubus chimed up. This would be the last she spoke. One beam of light was all it took. An extended hand which sent such a deadly force towards the demon’s head. When it receded, she was rendered without. The wound was cauterized, no blood spilled forth as her limp body collapsed to the ground. Not a single trace of the woman’s skull remained.

“I love each demon, I will be honest, regardless of origin or subspecies, which you clearly are. As such I do hate executing demons, but at this point I’ve stopped caring. My inaction has caused enough pain to befall me and I will not tolerate it happening again. If that means I have to make an example out of a god damn succubus than I fucking will. Now who else doesn’t think I am the fallen angel Lucifer? The one that those wretched bastards in Heaven enjoys mocking with the name Samael? Who else doesn’t believe that I am the great demon lord Satan?”

Carefully he lowered himself to the ground, his stance remaining prideful and strong. He was not going to waver, he was not missing any stops, he would rescue Akira and Amon even if it was the last thing he would do. No protest was made any further. The demons simply fell silent. Fearful that the power and anger of the angel would fall upon them. They didn’t believe he was Satan, but they believed that he was dangerous enough to challenge the one they believed to be the true prince of darkness.

“Good… now that all of you are willing to shut your mouths and wisen up a little, why don’t one of you tell me more about my new kingdom.” A smirk across his face as he found a nice rock ledge to sit upon. He crossed his legs petitely and simply leaned forward. It was obvious he was waiting for a story, for an explanation, and the demons didn’t want to know what this angel would do to them if they didn’t oblige.

“This is Hell… B-But we’re sure you know that already.” An imp spoke up, they nominated the smallest how cute. “There are 10 circles of hell… We are currently in the eighth circle, a circle that connects this world to the world of the living. I’m guessing you came from that long bridge and stairway over there… If anyone comes in and out of Hell, here is where they do it. They have to pass through this circle to get to the rest of Hell. Kind of like a dock…” The imp explained, Lucifer nodded along quietly.

“This circle may not seem like much from first glance b-but we actually have something of a train system which carries people to different sections of Hell. Of course you have to get through the gatekeepers, b-but I don’t think you’ll have much problems with that, s-sir. ” The imp was growing more and more stuttery the more he talked. Ryo wasn’t sure how he felt about such nerves. “Alright then, so there’s a train station under where we are… That’s interesting… Tell me about yourselves then. I can figure out where to go now, and so don’t need much more information on that front -- tell me what kind of demons are you lot. You look nothing like the demons that wandered Terra back in my day.” Back in my day… he really was old enough to say such small things like that.

“There are two kinds of demons.” The woman that began to speak was what he would describe as a Naga. “The Terra Born and the Hell Born. The Hell Born is a species of demon that was created through the mating of fallen angels and demons. The Terra Born are most likely the ones you are referring to. Those inferior things that merge with each other without--” He wouldn’t let her continue. It was another blink of an eye and she was in half. Her body fell into two pieces, the humanoid part, and the serpent part. Lucifer stood there with a frown on his face.

“If I hear any talk about true blooded demons like that, I will not hesitate to kill any of you. No questions asked. Now… How do I get out of this circle and into the rest of Hell.” The demons exchanged glances, they had already lost two members, both of which couldn’t bite their tongues. “W-Well you have to let the gatekeeper allow you to get out but the only way to do that is to find the demon that is in charge of this circle.” Ryo raised a brow, his expression practically spelling out for them that he wanted to know more.

“Erm… W-Well… Each circle of Hell has one individual that governs it. It’s always either a demon or a fallen angel. All except for the tenth circle where the palace is.”

Ryo looked about, spotting a random staircase in the ground that he had not noticed before. He assumed that was the way down into the train station that they had brought up. “Alright… and who is the individual that governs this one? The eight circle I think you said?” The imp nodded quickly. “Y-Yes… H-He is the demon known as Sogal, a hell-spawn demon that is so far undefeated. You can find him in the train tunnels below. H-He likes to wander the tracks.”

With that the angel turned his back to them before walking towards the stairs. “Thanks, you’re free to go now. Also… make sure you tell your fake Lucifer that the real one has come to take back his throne.” And with that he was descending into the depths once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is beyond late and I am truly sorry for that. There will be one more chapter this week (hopefully). Life has been a bit hectic for me so I do apologize for that. Thank you all for being patient, although I was quite shocked to see that a lot of people were still really invested and continued to read and promote the fic, so thank you all for joining us and welcome all newcomers!


	68. Hell's Station

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer goes to hunt down Sogal in an attempt to gain access to the rest of Hell, hoping to not have to increase the death count.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will admit that I got inspiration for this chapter from the Japanese Urban Legend of 'Kisaragi (鬼) Station', which is one of my favorite horror stories personally. Instead of it being something along the lines of a train to hell, it is instead a train that moves all throughout the circles of hell and this singular circle. The train system is a system that runs all throughout hell, however without express permission to reach secret stations, there is no way to board any of these trains.

The ground shook to the rhythm of the pounding train. Ryo stood upon the station’s ledge watching as it came by. He expected it to slow down, but it never did. Individuals upon the carriages were so tightly packed that he wondered just where they could all be going. It rushed past him creating a false gust that ruffled his feathers aggressively. Compared to the train stations of humanity, this was so strange to him. Everything was vastly different in a way, yet it remained all the same. The trains never stopped at the station where he stood… He couldn’t help but wonder why. Some trains were tightly packed, like that first one he witnessed, others had scarcely anyone aboard. Lights flickered above him, gentle on and off… It added to an overall ambiance.

The station reeked of mildew, there was not a soul in sight, the ticket ‘machines’ didn’t even work so he had to essentially hop the gates to get in. He didn’t mind too terribly much himself, other than the fact he had scratched up his knee in the process. In the end, however, he was quite disappointed with the result. From what the demons he had first encountered said, he expected for some monster to be lurking in the depths. A new challenge to face for which he had no fear of. But of course, that just wasn’t the case. Nothing could ever be so easy.

_ ‘You can find him wandering the train tunnels below…’ _

He wondered if that meant he would have to follow the tracks to locate this Sogal character… A moment of contemplation as he began to approach the tunnel from which the original train had come from. It was dark, pitch black darkness. A marginal gap was present giving him more than enough room to retreat should a train begin coming his way. Not to mention being able to walk in this direction will give him advance sight of the train.

He spread his wings out, flexing them expectantly. They twitched almost in anticipation for his jump. He could hug the right wall, or he could move to the center… How long would that center path be there however? That was the question to be asked. After a while he decided that even if it disappeared he could still walk it until it vanished, safe from the tracks as they bent around him. He would feel like a deer caught in headlights, but he’d at least be spared the inevitable damage that being hit would cause.

He bent his knees, prepped for the bound, before making the leap. He landed a bit short, feeling the cool metal of the tracks against his feet. He was quick to flutter his wings, pushing himself away before any electricity could possible surge up through his form. Eventually he found himself landing upon the hard gravel surface of the barren landscape. It was quiet here, something that was bizarre and strange for a train station. Lucifer couldn’t help but wonder, now, how long would he have to wander in order to meet that stranger, Sogal… The man that wandered the tracks.

He walked onward, pressing through the darkness of the tunnel. Very little light permeated this place, a curtain of black. A gentle thumping began. A boom… boom… boom… A drumbeat that never stopped. It was macabre in a way, he wondered if it could be the train, but it never got louder. Not unless he walked further and further. It was as if it was completely stationary, as though he was approaching some inevitable find upon the tracks. Perhaps that was what was happening, maybe it wasn’t a train he needed to worry about but instead the spirits beyond that.

Light. There was a glow barreling down the tunnel. Bright white light flooded his vision, for just an instant he was blinded. When his vision began to return he noticed something rather terrifying that had manifested from the shadows for which he was roaming about aimlessly in.

People. There were people, black shadow people, standing among the light. They vanished just as it passed. Their glowing white eyes evaporating. Not one of them paid any mind to him. A few jumped in front of the moving locomotive, but for the most part they seemed completely blank. Harmless, hollow, nonexistent. What was he witnessing? When the light vanished, it seemed those figures disappeared as well. If it weren’t for the fact he watched a handful of them throw their black bodies before the train, and heard the ugly squelching sounds of their bodies being run over, than he would have most certainly believed those figures to be nothing but an illusion.

Yet when he walked forward, it was either they stepped away from him or they were no longer there. As though the light gave them a tangible form to begin with. Keeping this in mind, Ryo proceeded to press on through the tunnel. He was cautious, more careful about where he stepped, afraid that the light would come back and manifest more figures closer than before. Something he would not like to risk. His wings twitched against his back, as though urging him to take flight just to be safe. But all the same he knew the tunnel was small… There was no point.

He felt the Earth beginning to shift beneath his feet. He was climbing a slope. A very minor slope, but a slope nonetheless. Was it that perhaps he was getting out of this tunnel now? That’s what it felt like. Pushing onwards, further and further, the pounding of those drums getting louder, he eventually found himself gazing up to the mouth of the train tunnel. Hours had passed by this point and he was rather happy to see some form of light. Any form of light at all. Sogal, that demon for which he was looking for, had since left his mind. Instead his brain was stuck upon those terrible figures.

He picked up his pace, allowing for himself to begin to dash up the slope. Another train was coming, and he had forgotten about what those lights did.

Hands grabbed for his wings and began to pull him back. Panic fluttered through him as he whirled around. Those shadows were howling at him, pleading for him not to go.  _ ‘Angel! Angel!’ _ they chanted over and over again.  _ ‘Angel from God!’ _ Despite the fact that they had no true faces, he could see the panic in them. This wasn’t normal. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He could tell that there was a reason for why people didn’t come back into this place, why nobody walked the tracks and why he hadn’t stumbled upon anyone else, but this was not what he was expecting.

This was not going to be his ending, he knew this to be true. He would not allow for these beasts to drag him back into the darkness. Not when he’s just recently found the exit from the awful place he had been wandering about in. He whirled around and began shoving the shadows away from him. Pushing, punching, kicking as hard as he could. The train rolled along almost slowly as it came to the decline. It needed to pick up speed, but at the same time he understood why it wasn’t. Trains hardly ever barreled down declines like that, it just wasn’t safe for anyone -- but this was Hell! Since when was shit safe for anyone at any given point!? This was death!

The argument raged on in his head as he continued to fight off the beasts that tried to drag him back into the darkness. He pulled from them, bit at them, clawed at them, their bodies tearing apart like blobs of ink. It felt fake almost, that they were made out of something so fluid, but all the same he had a feeling he knew why. These weren’t people, these weren’t demons, these were memories. These entities never existed, therefore they have no form. He would bet money that the reason for their existence is to be just that… A vague memory of where these trains probably came from.

The light passed, finally allowing for the shadows to disappear into the darkness. Lucifer felt the hands leave him and, with this sudden freedom, he ran as fast as he could.

He was finally free of the tunnel, a sigh of relief escaped him as the red sky unfurled above him. Just like when he entered the station, the endless void above him was tinted a deep red, almost as though blood had soaked it. Despite this reddish hue, he could still see stars, or what should be stars, peppering it all throughout. However, they looked less like lights and more like black dots for which existed above. It was disconcerting in a way, but he figured that was just how it was supposed to be. Hell was not a place bound by the same rules as the living realm.

“Why did you come here.” Lucifer was not necessarily frightened by the voice so much as he was startled, he turned his attention to where it had originated to see whom he assumed to be Sogal standing there. The demon was nothing like the demons for which he had known, something he had expected considering the fact that Sogal was said to be a hellspawn demon. For what he had gleaned, these demons weren’t necessarily the beasts of terra, more so like the beasts that folk legends brought up. Tales of humanoid figures with red eyes that dare torment the living… It would explain a lot without necessarily contradicting his own experiences.

Sogal was a brute of a man, rather tall with ratty brown hair. Long and tangled in rats nests all over. He, in the end, looked something like a stereotypical caveman. One that Ryo had many experiences with seeing in television and movies of his youth. All the same, however, there were some differences. For example the clothes he wore were not the same, even though his overall disposition was. The weapon he carried wasn’t a wooden or stone club, in fact it wasn’t a club at all… But instead a spear. Gleaming crimson eyes were focused upon the angel, they held hatred and a burning fire within them.

The drum beats for which had become so natural to the fallen angel, fading into the background, had ceased in that moment. Silence befell them.

It almost seemed as though the entirety of Hell knew that perhaps the silence was needed in this circle. That perhaps the conflict that was about to unravel itself needed its peace before it occurred. “Are you the demon Sogal, the one for whom governs this, the eighth circle of Hell?” Lucifer inquired, his words confident and holding a sharp and demanding tone to them. He knew he had enough bite to supplement his bark, that was sure enough. He was not afraid to kill this demon if he had to.

“Indeed… That would be I...” Sogal responded, his fierce gaze never leaving the blond angel. “And who are you that dares seek me out.” Lucifer smirked, his confidence returning, the fear of that tunnel had long since evaporated. He was back in his own mindset, the mindset that dictated that he would do everything in his power to reclaim Hell from the false entity using his name, and also retrieve Akira and Amon from the fiery pits. He wanted to make his Utopia, and no demon like Sogal would stop him.

“I am the fallen angel Lucifer, the great demon lord Satan. I have come here to reclaim Hell and to retrieve a specific soul from the depths. However it seems someone else is using my name without my permission -- you wouldn’t know who that happens to be would you?” He inquired in a false tone of friendliness. One that was easy to pick up to anyone with more than half a brain cell. “Are you trying to make a joke, bird lady?” The beast inquired, a frown upon his features exposing his sharp teeth. “Oh no, no joke at all, I am being completely serious.”

He could feel the gaze of doubt upon him, however the angel didn’t care. He knew his identity, he remembered all that he’s been through and in the end only he would be able to prove himself to be the true original fallen angel. “Pardon me, ‘Lucifer’, but Satan is already resting in his palace in the center of Hell, I truly doubt that you would be him considering I have seen him and he doesn’t have angel wings.”

The demon approached, his height dwarfed the beautiful angel, towering over him by a good three feet. Lucifer didn’t mind at all, in his mind the bigger they are the harder they fall. “If you knew anything about history, you’d know that Lucifer, or Satan, was an angel fallen from Heaven. If he doesn’t have wings, then he most likely isn’t your guy. In fact, I would even venture to say that I am.” The blond smirked up at the other, his icy blue eyes holding the same level of hostility towards the demon that was given to him. “Would you now… Care to prove it? If you really are the devil, then you should have no issue in fighting with me right?”

It always came down to violence didn’t it? There was never a peaceful solution, but what should he expect? Lucifer agreed and followed the demon off the tracks and to an area where they could fight without worrying about a train taking one of them out. Was this how every circle was going to be? Trekking through the madness to reach an eventual confrontation? He just hoped he didn’t have to kill the demon he was going up against… He wanted to leave some survivors to go about speaking about the returning Queen of Terra. The one that wanted Hell back.

Sogal jumped towards him, it snapped him out of his daze. Despite the fact he wasn’t focused, however, the angel was quick. The spear that he swung at him was dodged before the petite figure disarmed the larger. With the spear in his own possession it was a rather easy to bring the beast to his knees. The jagged wound was created deep in Sogal’s chest. Lucifer showed no mercy as he allowed for the blood to ooze out and stain his flesh. “Please, it’s just a flesh wound.” The angel told the screaming monster as he fell to his knees. Taking the spear he snapped the wooden staff over his knee as though it were a twig.

If he had to land a final blow, he didn’t need a spear to do it especially seeing the number of damage he did to Sogal in just a minute of combat.

“I bet your devil wouldn’t do that, now would he?” Lucifer inquired with a smirk, watching as Sogal looked up at him with pathetic and hateful eyes. “Now it’s either you can give me all that I need to get to the other circles, and thus ride the train system, or I kill you right now and use your body as my ticket.” The decision wasn’t hard at all… In fact it only took a few seconds.

Lucifer found himself toting the corpse easily behind him down the tracks to the next station. There it was solidified, there was a new force to be reckoned with in Hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sogal is one of many entities who govern the circles of Hell. The one we start in is the Eighth circle of Hell, which is something of a bridge between the world of the living and the rest of Hell. By killing Sogal, Lucifer had effectively gain full control over this Eighth circle, and thus full control over the majority of the transportation system.


	69. Railroad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer rides along the tracks to the next circle of Hell, meeting someone knew along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hell has eight circles in total, each circle has it's own purpose and they are grouped together by their intent. The eighth circle, the circle that is the bridge between life and death, is the farthest away from everything else. The next circles to appear, being the home circles, are grouped together as the fifth, sixth, and seventh circles.

The glass window felt cold against his scalp. The train car rocked back and forth, left and right, as they traveled through the endlessly dark tunnels. Which circle were they going to? He wasn’t quite sure… Blue eyes stared out the window into the nothingness. He saw as the light passed over those black figures, the ones that tried to drag him back into the darkness. How sad they looked now that they were just wandering around. What they were… that was missing to him. Exhaustion… Lucifer felt tired and heavy, as though he wanted to take a nap. However the knowledge that he didn’t know when they’d stop as well as the fact that he was in Hell prevented him from drifting. Perhaps he should have sought out a place of rest in the eighth circle before he left… 

_ ‘Too late now I suppose…’ _

“Hello Hellspawns and Terra Born, we are currently inbound towards the city circles. This includes stops at the Demon Wilderness, the Titan Kingdom, and the Fallen City. Next stop is the Fallen City.” A loud screech as the intercom cut off, the lady’s voice disappearing behind the noise. It was painful, but not worse than what Ryo had already experienced in the past. The cart continued to barrel on, reaching the end of the tunnel and near the edge of a cliff. He saw the bridge up ahead but wasn’t really excited to be suspended above the abyss… But, all the same, he trusted the structures of Hell.

From here he could see the massive expanse around them. The circles truly were far apart, and with this he realized just how little of the eighth circle he had explored. As it got further and further away he saw the massive structures beginning to make themselves apparent in the mist. The train tracks which went all about, spreading over white, dead grass. Not only that but he could also see the bridge that reached out to the world’s beyond.

This was his kingdom, yet he couldn’t help but feel infinitesimal among the masses. Just ready to be crushed by the pressure all around him. He tore his gaze from the window, hating that feeling, and began to look about the cart. Nobody paid him any mind. Their minds were elsewhere. The cabin was mostly empty, a few hellspawn demons, a few terra born, they were just scattered about. One or two terra born’s eyes were trained on him -- he wondered if they recognized him at all… If they did than they were probably confused. Confused on whether or not it was truly him sitting here.

He made eye contact with one, a sickly creature, skin and bones with horns and scales alike. One of the reptile demons from the world long gone… From the era of dinosaurs and the years of chaos upon Terra. When humans were no more than a spare thoughts and demons were just as normal as grass or a tree. They stared at each other for a moment before Ryo broke his sight away. He didn’t want to maintain that contact, he didn’t want those eyes to pour into him. They were the eyes of hope, eyes of desperation, eyes of pleading intent… They wanted him to save them, but the problem with that was he didn’t know how. He didn’t even know what was going on.

His gaze shifted to the empty seat before him. Nobody was there, none to listen to him and none to recognize him. None so close to touch him. He liked that solidarity, that distance, at least for right now when he didn’t know what he was supposed to do. He was on a blind search for Akira and his throne… That was all... 

“Excuse me?” A voice startled him to alertness, it was in that moment he realized that he had begun to doze. No question about it. Somehow his brain had found enough solace that he managed to drift away. The masses of land that he once was able to see outside were long gone, nothing but the red abyss all around them… Where were they, how far had they traveled, how long was he out of it? 

“Are you awake?” The voice came back again, catching the angel’s attention. He turned to look over to it, his gaze fell upon a hellspawn demon that was standing there. She was beautiful, strong looking, long black hair which fell all about her and red scales which covered her form. Bare breasts, sharp horns, dragon like wings, the body of a warrior no questions asked.

“Um… Do I know you?” Ryo inquired curiously, tilting his head, his head wings flattening against his scalp as he did as such. Those blue eyes filled with a mixture of dull confusion and hollow curiosity. Truly he didn’t know who this girl was, nor did he really have enough care to find out, all the same he was polite. “No, but I heard about you from the eighth circle. You took down that annoying Sogal.” She spoke, gesturing to the empty aisle seat beside him. “May I sit?”

Lucifer looked to the seat before straightening and scooting closer to the window, nodding his head. He was intrigued now. Was word already getting out about his endeavor? Were people already speaking about the angel that killed the demon leader of the eighth circle? Apparently so… he hoped that it would get to whoever was ‘in charge’ now. Whoever was taking his visage and image and using it against him. Whoever was trying to manipulate him and his story.

“So what’s your name?” Lucifer inquired, he wanted to know who he was talking to. “Sarel.” She answered bluntly, without any hesitation, and with a smirk upon her ruby lips. Sarel… what a strange name… “And your name?” She asked of him, pointing a claw in his direction. “Lucifer. But the demons of terra have taken to calling me Satan.” She laughed at this. “No, seriously, what’s your  _ real _ name. Lucifer, the fallen angel of Heaven, is just a myth -- and Satan, well, he’s on his throne.” There was a heavy silence between them, neither of them said anything, and when Ryo didn’t change his answer she began to feel rather sheepish.

“Do you mean to say you are the original fallen angel? That the legends that humans and old demons told were true and not just them going crazy from old age?” Demons could go crazy from old age? “I mean, I believe so. I don’t think anyone fell before me. I also don’t think demons had ever seen an angel before I came to them so I would assume I am the original.” Lucifer answered her, leaning back in his chair. She seemed to grow excitable, grabbing one of his petite hands in her own massive ones.

“Does that means you were there to see dinosaurs!? Does that mean you were there with the great war!? Does that mean you tempted the all-mighty and fed Adam and Eve the cursed apple!?” Sarel spoke, her voice growing more and more excitable, Ryo was just grateful it stayed at a tolerable level of volume. The girl reminded him of Miki a bit… “Well… yes and no… Most of the bible were mere fabrications. I never spoke to Jesus, I wasn’t there to give Adam and Eve the fruit of knowledge, while yes the book of revelations revolved around me, and yes I saw the dinosaurs and fought in the great war between Heaven and Earth… It seems that the majority of the legends surrounding me are fabricated or stretched beyond belief.”

He retreated his hands and placed them neatly on his lap, feeling embarrassed in a way, like a disappointment. Nothing was really all that special about him, he believed as such. Yes he had abilities that no angel possessed, but other than that, him as a person, was not that much different from anyone else. He didn’t want to be seen as stronger or weaker, he didn’t want to be seen as special or royal, because in the end that’s not what his goal was… What Hell has become is some elaborate food chain and he couldn’t stand that.

“So what part of the legends are true if that isn’t?” She asked him, tilting her head curiously. The question was far too heavy for him, but all the same he felt like it was due to the people of Hell by this point.

“I was born in Heaven, the last of the primary angels, assigned to the guardian Gabriel, the dominion twins of Uriel and Azrael, the virtue Raphael, and the archangel Michael as their charge.” He began his tale, not sparing any details that he recalled. He told her everything, straightening the thoughts out over the long expanse. He recalled to her how he hated heaven, how he came to Earth, how he met the demons and joined them, how he freed Amon, how he unintentionally fell in love, how he conceived a child for which was miscarried, and how he went to war for the crimes he believed Heaven to be committing without any right to.

He went on about how they lost tragically just because of the sheer number difference. He went on about how he was reborn over and over again, how he met Akira and felt that he was the only person who could ever care for him, how demons began to attack Earth, how his father abused him and hurt him, how Akira merged with Amon, how he fell in love with both of them fully and all over again, how he awoke to find that he was the devil, how he accidentally started the apocalypse, how he lost the one person in the world he couldn’t live without.

He spilled every sin out to this girl, spilled every word to her, every painful memory to her. He wanted her to know the story of what actually happened. As the train chugged along she listened, nodding her head, seeming to feel for her. He saw her heart break in her chest, saw her expression twist into faces of anguish, pain, and sincerity. She believed him, she recognized his story, and she saw that it was fact and not fiction.

When he was done, his throat was hoarse, his lungs deflated, and his mind, he was sure, was beginning to resemble a deformed stress ball with pieces falling off of it. Exhaustion was beginning to take him even more, to which she could understand. Bags under his eyes, a paler look to his flesh. She felt true sympathy for him.

“Wow… You’ve been through… a lot...” Sarel spoke, her voice low and gentle, one claw reached up and guided his head to rest upon her bare shoulder. “If you’re story is true, which I don’t doubt it is, then that means you are the true king of Hell… How that fake got there is kind of a shock to me.” Lucifer nodded his head, letting himself relax against her. His head was hurting terribly, a pounding drum in his skull. “Tell me, Sarel, what is wrong here… Why are the demons so desperate looking.” She had asked her question and despite that, through his exhaustion, he asked her his.

“Hell was formed back when Heaven was as far as I know. That’s what they teach us. I wasn’t there for this, no hellspawn demon was. Titans lived down here originally, the predecessors to demons, but when the terra-born began to die… They too came down here. The titans were not happy with their descendents living beside them, partly because they were strong beasts but all the same not strong enough. There were societal rifts. So the titan known as Aotz decided that they would split Hell apart into ten circles. One center circle, for whomever can free her son from his tomb, and nine surrounding circles. She, who originally ruled, vowed that she would not allow anyone to ascend to the throne unless they are strong enough to, or unless they are able to free her son from the moon… I think that’s why so many demons in your time tried to do just that…” 

“Most of the circles were unused, nobody knew why, but there was a feeling that perhaps they were meant for something that wasn’t theirs. One circle, the Titan Kingdom, was dedicated to just that… The Titans. I think Lady Aotz still rules over it. But do not quote me on that, I’m not allowed there. Then there is the Demon wilderness where all kinds of demons reside, living together in a way, even though the hellspawn demons and the terra born demons don’t usually get along. Every other circle remained vacant. After the war ended, that’s when the eighth circle was made…” 

“At least made into what would become what it is today. When other angels began to fall due to the purge of Heaven, they took over the fifth circle, the City of the Fallen. They began to breed with the demons and have true fallen children. These children don’t have the same abilities as the angels, but they are slightly stronger than the average demon. They are power hungry and aggressive. As, what you described was the time loops, began to happen, humans began to come down here… Their souls rejected from Heaven and thus having no other place to go. There are four circles for these individuals. The first circle, which is for those that aren’t sinful enough to be tortured, but not pure enough to enter Heaven go to. They are able to be redeemed but I don’t know of any occurrences of that myself. Then you have the second circle, the city of the damned. This is for the average person… It’s hideous here. People kill each other, devour each other, there is no food, there is no water. People die over and over again endlessly and without halt. If Akira and Amon are anywhere than they probably would be in this circle I would imagine… We’ve found a few devilmen here and gotten them out but they often times do come to that place.”

“Then there is the third circle… This is a deep chasm filled with torture rooms, it is for the worst of the worst, where the most terrible of individuals suffer the worst things imaginable. People like the Zodiac Killer for instance, or the Zodiac Killers I should say as, because of your time loops, there were multiple. Then finally the fourth circle, which is the nursery… Babies, as I’m sure you are aware, are neither sinful nor sinless. As such they go to this circle to be adopted by a demon or fallen that wish to take them in. They do not need food, they do not need water, and they do not grow in this world. These ‘human’ babies eventually grow into the hellspawn demons or the modern day fallen. Thus expanding the species in its entirety.” Sarel spoke, her gaze low and her body heavy, something was weighing on her.

“What does this have to do with the state of Hell?” Lucifer inquired curiously, his mind growing hazier and hazier by the second. “I’m getting to that don’t worry.” Sarel reassured him playfully. A faux joy that even she had issues keeping up with… She wasn’t sure what other mood to take, the somberness didn’t really fit Hell… The grief didn’t really fit a hellspawn demon, who is supposed to be prideful and powerful.

“It's fallen, they have become greedy. Aotz had ruled that half of the circles would be dictated by demons, the other half by fallen, and one circle would be dictated by none. The final circle, the center circle, the tenth circle, would be for the person who would rule all and be the king or queen of Hell. But the fallen didn’t care for this promise, they just wanted control of the kingdom and to be in favor of the current Satan sitting on the throne. They executed many of the demons that were leading the circles, thus leading to their advantage in power… Now only three demons remain, partly thanks to you killing Sogal…” She explained to him, her gaze low, her head hung.

Lucifer didn’t know what to say, how could things have gone so bad. His hand, petite and small compared to hers, rested itself atop her open palm. He held her hand reassuringly, trying to soothe her woes. “Don’t worry… As rightful king of this place, I will restore it back to what it should be. I will fix what was broken, and will rectify the balance. It’s my job after all…” Shock fell over her face, before a smile spread across her features.

“Count me in then, Lord Satan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for how truly long it took me to get this chapter up! Oh my god! It's been way too long! I'm supposed to be posting weekly! What happened!? I'll tell you what happened, it was finals. But don't worry, I am back and ready for more Eden! The semester is over for me so I am going to catch up on the chapters that need to be up and get back to weekly chapters and try to get ready for the holiday event that is starting... very very soon... oh dear. Wish me the best of luck everybody!


	70. Fallen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer and Sarel enter the Fallen City in an attempt to find the ruler of this circle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fallen Angels are also referred to as the Fallen just to make things simpler. The leader of this circle of hell is Raziel who is one of the first fallen angels to claim Hell at all and is one of the people that put the current ruler into power.

“Lord Satan, we have arrived.”

Lucifer jerked upright, shocked but feeling better than he had before. He peered out the window to see a train station. Lights illuminating all around them upon a vacant antique platform. A gentle pinging noise as the doors of the train cabin opened up and patrons, only a few, began to calmly walk out. Sarel rose to her feet, slipping out of her seat, waiting for Ryo to follow her, to which he did. The duo walked out quietly, side by side, like toy soldiers in a way. The platform was rough but not unwelcome. It felt much better than being over the abyss. Disembarking the train was like someone gave him permanent solidarity on something even if his balance was still a bit off from being suspended for so long.

“Next stop, the Titan’s Kingdom!” The announcer in the train shouted as the door closed, an ugly hissing sound coming with it. The train began to hiss and wheeze before it moved forward. Slowly and steadily it picked up speed before eventually disappearing into the darkness of the tunnels. Ryo watched it for a while, curious as to what the tunnel looked like, but it was too dark to really see. The train was off like a rocket to the next circle of Hell, he supposed they must be at least somewhat punctual.

“Come on, the city is up above us.” And with that, Sarel took his hand and began to lead him to the Fallen City. The red light was painful when he came out of the darkness of the train station, walking through the rather abandoned underground before emerging into the city for which they came to see. While the underground was desolate and empty, the city was anything but. Angels with wings black as soot walked all around. They chatted, they laughed, they fought, save for the species Ryo would say it was no different than New York City back when that still existed.

Sarel continued to lead him through the city, eyes followed them curiously as though asking why they had come there or if they were just mirages of the light. Lucifer’s wings folded tightly to his back, he had memories of angels, but they were so distant… It made him wonder if maybe he had forgotten the proper protocol in Heaven -- did the proper protocol still matter here? Probably not… The entire city seemed to turn and face him, as they passed a few figures he heard them murmur ‘He has White Wings?’ and things of that caliber… Things he didn’t want to hear.

_ ‘Did they not pluck his wings?’ _ One asked.  _ ‘Why is he so special to not have to make his own wings?’ _ Another inquired.  _ ‘Is he a seraphim?’ _ That was the question that everyone seemed to begin asking. Seraphim… “Lord Satan…” He heard Sarel whisper, his wild blue eyes focusing on her for a moment before returning to the burning red of the fallen angels all around them. “If they attempt to make a move, you take to the skies immediately…” He was alarmed by this. “What? What about you?” He knew she also had wings, but wasn’t sure if they worked.

“I’ll be fine, they’ll most likely ignore me. What matters is that you aren’t overpowered… You have a mission here… I am just a wayward wanderer trying to find a purpose…” She smiled at him, exposing her sharp fangs, something that for some reason gave him solace in the situation he found himself in. Those eyes, they grew hungrier and more aggressive. The gap behind them was closing up as angels trailed them. Soon enough it became apparent that the path in front of them was closing too. They were being surrounded by the fallen.

“Get the pure blood seraphim! We can barter him with Michael!” His wings fanned out all around him and he immediately took to the skies faster than a bullet. Airborne he became and flew high above the city, beautiful white wings catching the glow of the sky.

The fallen were soon to follow, black faux wings spreading out around them. Some he could see were made of fabric, others metal, regardless, they were not real wings in the slightest. They had lost their ability to fly long ago -- that’s why they were fallen. But they had found a way around it. To differentiate themselves from the non-fallen ones it became pretty obvious that they instead made their feathers black specifically for things like this… If only they knew he was and how Michael, or more like Heaven, could never want him back… Never in a billion years. 

With the fallen coming after him, Lucifer was quick to begin fleeing. He was faster, more agile, much stronger in every regard so it wasn’t hard for him to speed on past or beyond the reach of any fallen that tried to come after him. The only issue was stamina. There were so many and he was in a place where the sole population was after him. What was he supposed to do in this regard? He couldn’t kill them all… That would be an easy way for him to get captured and--

He felt a sting in his wing. Numbness. Turning towards it he saw what was happening. They had blown a dart into his wing. Black blood oozed from the puncture. He snatched the dart and threw it away, but the damage had already been done. The one wing was fully numb and he was having issues moving it. Another dart into his shoulder wing, another in his other hip wing, soon enough they had landed a dart in each of his back wings without his notice.

He plucked them free, struggling to stay aloft for a bit, before eventually he was land bound. Wings now fully numb he plummeted down to the earth. “Lord Satan!” He heard Sarel shout above all the other cheers and noise, an exclamation that silenced the crowd. Now they definitely wanted to take him into custody.

They caught him in barbed wire which tore at his flesh in thin lines, wrapping him in it so he couldn’t move. He could break out of it, he could free himself, but at the cost of hurting himself even more. Black blood oozed from his flesh as the barbs dug into his skin. Cries of pain leaving him all the while. Wings twitching underneath the thin wire, he couldn’t move, not a single bit. It hurt, how the wire dug into his stomach, legs, breast, wings, back, and shoulder. He felt like he was suffocating.

“Let him go! Don’t you realize he is Lucifer! The original fallen angel!?” She cried out trying to force her way through the crowd. They didn’t listen, instead they bared their weapons towards her. “Back off, Hellspawn, don’t make us do what we don’t want to.” She coward away, shrinking back like a dog that had been beaten. She didn’t want them to hurt her, but she also didn’t want them to take Ryo away. He looked so small and helpless, his beautiful complexion ruined by the tar like blood… 

“At least let me go with him, at least tell me where you’re taking him! Please!” She cried out, trying to fight through the crowd, trying so desperately to make it to the angel who lay there, wounded and helpless… Or at least, she believed he was helpless. As they lifted Lucifer from the ground, careful not to harm themselves, she caught those blue eyes in a mess of blond. A wink. A breath escaped her, he knew what he was doing. He was going to be fine, she was sure of it… If his stories held true, which she held no doubt about even though she should, than she believed he would be okay if he was showing confidence in that sense. He had a plan… 

Sarel watched as they marched away with him and the rest of the population went back to their daily lives… Her shoulders sunk, her heart dipped, stomach twisting into a knot… She felt anxious even though she knew that he was alright. She knew that he was okay and yet she still felt guilty, as if she just sent him to his execution.

Who cared if it was the first stop on the line, she shouldn’t have let them get off when they did… They should have gone to the demon wilderness or the titan kingdom first, at least with those places she knew he would be recognized or it would have been a fair fight instead of toxins and barbed wire. But at the same time, why was he so confident? Why was he able to stay so calm? It just didn’t add up to her.

She continued to walk through the rather busy city with this in mind. Carriages pulled by ghostly demonic horses passed by her, their hooves clopping against the stone walkways for which made the roads of this place. The dirt paths carved by humanoid feet for which were overgrown hardly by white grass. The buildings all had beautiful architecture, their stances were so grandiose and gorgeous, but their materials made them look macabre. Bones protruding from stones, ghostly hands reaching out and faces aghast as they beg for mercy… Mercy they will never receive.

She continued to walk down the road, passing by buildings all the while. Those ghostly entities protruding as she passed. She hated how they looked, hated how they screamed in agony and seemed to be begging for a reprieve from the nightmare that they are enduring. It made her all the more concerned as to Lucifer’s abduction… What if they are taking him back to the Mayor? What if they are taking him to Raziel? What if that’s what he wants?

It clicked in her head all of a sudden, a gasp escaped her as she reached the conclusion! This was the fastest way for him to meet Raziel! That’s why he’s doing this! He wants to see who is in charge and win that fight. She knows he can break out of those barbed wires, he knows it too… But Sogal and Raziel are on completely different levels. Raziel is smart, Sogal was not. Raziel is a sly fox and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to win, Sogal was at least honorable.

Sarel thought about this for a moment, her expression sunken and low at the thought that he would be killed by Raziel. Could he kill Lucifer? If he was who he said he was, than wouldn’t that be near impossible regardless of Raziel’s status? Wasn’t Lucifer the strongest living entity in the universe? That’s how she was told when she was young but--

“Why are you just standing there miss?” A voice startled her out of her stupor, turning to go look at where it came from, she saw a rather beaten up fallen angel eyeing her with suspicion and cruelty. He looked almost as though he wanted to rip her wings off at any second. “We don’t welcome your kind here!” He snapped at her, his voice booming, hateful, and aggressive. She retreated before running off and away from him in a panic, she didn’t want them to attack her too.

She wondered all about, referencing maps, believing that maybe she could rescue Ryo before he was taken by Raziel, but at the same time feeling as though she couldn’t do anything of that sort. Why would she be able to? She was nothing more than a hellspawn demon -- regardless of what they say, a hellspawn demon will never be better than a terra born. For the terra born know the true wilds of the worlds. They know how to survive, hellspawn do not. They are practically Hell’s pillow princesses in her mind, they were the best of what could have happened… The weakest.

With a sigh on her breath, Sarel wandered about the fallen city, trying to locate the city hall where she knew she would find Lucifer, where she knew they had to have taken him. It didn’t take too terribly long to find it. Not only was it the only building that didn’t have skeletons jutting out of it from all angles, but it was also the only building for which foot traffic seemed to actively avoid. Understandably so given Raziel’s history. He was a tyrant and one of the larger perpetrators of the corruption in Hell. With his belief that demons, regardless of birth, were scum that amount to just powerful slaves.

If Ryo truly was who he said he was, than he undoubtedly would be far against that. The building was made out of darkened stone, completely one material, something that was relatively unknown throughout the rest of the city. Each of the other buildings were made out of what seemed to be scraps of some sort, but not this one. A sign hung before the front entrance which simply read ‘Town Hall’. This was the place… This massive building was the place she needed to be. But how would she get in.

That was another question altogether.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fallen abduct pure blood angels in an attempt to sell them back to heaven. it's how they get tools and whatnot as angels are the type of individuals who believe it is wrong for angels to die outside of battle to the hands of someone that isn't an angel. As such their idea for selling Lucifer is that a Seraphim will warrant more, as they are essentially royalty, and that they'll be able to have a blackmail object to guilt angels into doing what they want for them to.


	71. Raziel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer gets kidnapped by the fallen and now has to fight his way out and take over the circle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fallen Angels are essentially Angels but without the goody-toe-shoes vibe. They are cowards, they are fools, and they are sinful. However this isn't to say some of them aren't wrong, some were in fact cast out for no reason -- not because they are sinful. But most of them are in fact justified in being fallen due to being criminals or cowards.

He was still as they moved him along, not caring about the wires that dug just deep enough to make him bleed, he let his hair fall all around him, his blue eyes glancing around quickly as he took in all that he could. He didn’t make a sound, silent as a mouse regardless of how they jostled him. He didn’t care. Ryo was on a mission and he’d be damned if he didn’t see it through. Considering everything, this was the best course of action he could have taken… He didn’t realize just how hostile they would be towards him, and neither did Sarel apparently… What did they want with him anyways?

The interior of the building was a stark contrast to the city for which they entered originally. While the city of the fallen was a landscape of marble, distorted by skeletons that were buried within the structures of the buildings, the interior of this particular building seemed to be the only exception. Beautiful tile flooring which clicked under the shoes of those carrying him, drapes that covered the walls and gave it a softer texture, stained glass windows which poured gentle light in from outside.

His eyes settled upon the stain glass, a story was being told there, what it was he couldn’t see. An angel, beautiful with many wings, slowly and steadily breaking free of some oval like shape… Almost like an egg. He didn’t know what to make of it, he wondered if it was a relic put in by the fallen or if it had been here all this time. The angels continued to escort him, the creaking sound of a door with distorted music playing beyond it. A twisted music box for which he loathed to hear.

It reminded him of his childhood, the clicks and grinds of his music box as it played its sombering melody -- attempting to block out the pain that he was feeling… That’s the memory that came back to him.

Funny, despite being the most powerful being of this universe, he still finds himself haunted by the memories that linger in his mind. The memories that he held as a younger angel, the memories that he held as a human, the memories that sneak up behind him and snatch him by the ankles. He hates the thought of it, so ugly and so cruel. How he was subjected to such a dark history. Maybe that’s why this sort of thing no longer phases him, as he’s carried through long winding halls and among darkened cloth, perhaps it’s the fact that he knows he’s been through worse and that he can now overcome any adversity thrown his way, either that or die trying.

“My my! Is that a Seraphim!? How did you manage to get that!?” Lucifer wanted to look and see who this so called Raziel was, but he couldn’t dare move without the barbed wires digging deeper into him. “He wandered into the city, sir.” One of the fallen carrying him stated before he felt himself being thrown forward. He landed on his stomach into the floor, wincing at the pain that befell him now. The acidic nature of his blood was beginning to really set in.

“A seraphim wandering into the city?” Raziel approached, armored boots clattering on the ground. He stood right before the angel before bending down and grabbing a fistful of his hair. It stung to feel it being pulled, but he held his tongue. Blue eyes stared hatefully at the fallen angel before him. He was a dark looking fellow, brooding in a way, with the dark marks of an infection lining his features. Scarring from a disease that was undoubtedly running its course through his blood. Metallic machines twitched as they handled the excited emotions of the governing body for the circle. He was older, he was excitable, and he was undoubtedly craving to kill.

“Tell me, pretty bird, what’s your name?” His breath was rancid, like rotting pink flesh, and his voice was just as putrid sounding.

“I am Lucifer, the first fallen angel and the Great Demon Lord -- referred to as Satan by the demons.” He spoke, his voice a low growl, only to receive laughter from the fallen for which stood all about him. “You? All tied up in barbed wire? You’re the Great Demon Lord Satan? I doubt it! Satan is sitting on his throne right now! Good try “Lucifer”. We all know that angel died a long time ago anyways. Vanquished by that mortel, Jesus.” Raziel threw his body back onto the ground, the hell did they mean by ‘vanquished by Jesus’? Of course he knew of that man but was that really what the angels were saying? That Jesus, of all people, vanquished him for good? He wasn’t even reborn at that time… How could he have possibly done anything the angels had sworn him to do?

“If you truly are the great demon lord, than you’ll have no issues with getting out of those binds and striking me right this second.” Raziel spoke, stepping away as he did so. What a lovely challenge, Ryo figured it was an idiot’s taunting. He could do it… The numbers had thinned by this point, he could beat them all down without growing exhausted and without wasting too much time. He began to count the people in the room… twelve, thirteen including Raziel. The perfect number to assert who he was.

“Alright, you want proof of a miracle than so be it.” A twisted grin as he used one of his feathers to turn the barbed wire into nothing but water. It melted away from his form, with the newfound freedom he sprang up and charged forward. Raziel turned suddenly only to feel the devil’s fist make contact with his facial features. The hit was hard, a loud crack as Lucifer easily broke the nose of his opponent. Blood poured from Raziel’s face, he slumped over clutching it tightly between clenched digits.

“You wanted proof, there you have it? I don’t play very nice. Thank you for bringing me to a place where it’s so easy to kill you all -- no outside interference!” Some fallen began to run towards him, some were cowards and ran towards the door.

A swing of his hand, a slight spinning motion, and the doors all around the building slammed shut, their metal and stone growing hot and scalding, as the hands of the fallen attempting to escape made contact with the doors, their skin immediately burned. Damage done permanently. Not like it would matter, Lucifer knew they’d all have to die. The few that ran towards him were either launched back through a series of kicks and punches, all hits that he made sure would kill, or they were sliced very cleanly in half with his wings.

A broken spinal column, a snapped neck, a torso and pair of hips separated forever. Raziel stared in shock at the gorefest which was created before him. It took ten minutes and already six of the thirteen fallen which were in the room were dead, one of those survivors being himself. He watched as Lucifer got into running position, charging forward and easily killing the remaining in macabre and dark ways.

Ripping them apart, shoving their faces into burning doors, ripping out ribs and using them to stab others, the list went on and on. What he saw wasn’t an angel, nor a fallen, what he saw was a demon. The person he was dealing with was an angel that had fallen from Heaven and grown with the demons. Raziel thought about who exactly would have such a backstory, before it finally clicked. This was the angel that made them a species to begin with, the one they had fallen for. The one that started a great war and died in the process… He came back somehow, and not in the way that they figured. He wasn’t killed by Jesus, he was alive and well, yet he taunted him.

Those burning blue eyes settled on him, the warrior immediately knew what would happen as he watched him step closer. Sharp teeth bared, growls leaving such a pretty throat, fingernails that looked like claws -- the most beautiful angel looked no less horrifying than any demon. A tremble ran through Raziel, he knew he had to do something quick, so he decided to do all he could think of.

Releasing his nose and allowing the black blood to ooze freely, he bowed down to the beautiful angel. Head to the ground, on his knees, he begged for mercy. He begged to be spared the inevitable death he would most likely receive. “L-Lord Satan! Lucifer! I am so sorry I didn’t recognize you sooner! Truly we thought you were dead! W-We even have a holiday in your name! Truly now that we know it is you for which I am speaking too, I will never betray you, please spare my life.” He felt petite digits grab his hair and rip his head from the ground, he came face to face with the growling expression of Lucifer.

He saw now the number they did on him, it wasn’t anything too severe, but it was undoubtedly enough to piss him off beyond reconciliation. Thin lines with deep holes where the needles of the barbed wire dug in. They hurt him terribly and if that means he cannot be spared than he would not be surprised. 

“You stood against this kingdom’s rightful king, you followed a heretic, and not only that but you are attacking the angels of Heaven. Truly if you were a follower of me, you would do no such thing. We may have fallen, but Heaven is no longer our war to fight. You are a fool of a general, an idiot of a leader, you don’t deserve the life you have nor the soul gifted to you by God.” Lucifer threw him to the ground, watching as his body landed ass first onto the hard tile.

“B-But sir! Wasn’t it Heaven who wronged you, wasn’t it Michael who killed you?” A hard kick to his side, he heard a harsh crack as he was launched. Bones breaking through the armor. He coughed up a bit of blood as he felt the internal bleeding begin. “It was Michael and only Michael that hurt me, to hurt anyone else outside of Heaven’s army would be unfair… They should not inherit the mistakes of those that came before them.” Lucifer began, approaching again.

“To say such things would be like saying just because one demon killed a fallen, then all demons should be evil. To assume such things would make you no better than the angels you swore to stand against!” He grabbed hold of Raziel’s hair again and began to drag him towards the stairs. Up the stairs they climbed, with the body bouncing harshly behind the original fallen angel. They climbed and climbed until they reached the top of the building. Standing upon the roof, Raziel knew what would happen.

“Ring the bell right now. Let everyone witness your demise so they may know who the true king is.” Tears, Lucifer didn’t cringe at them. He was loving, he was tolerating, but only to a point. Exhaustion was running his nerves and fraying them, desperation turning him into stone-cold, and betrayal outlining every action he took. He couldn’t stand the injustice shown here, not just towards himself but to the species they hailed from. A society for which they selfishly rebelled against. It is true he would never go back, but even then he believes that it isn’t necessarily right to be Fallen.

Every sin has its price, but all the same, every living entity has a vice. The bell rang in thick chimes, catching everyone’s attention as they crowded around the building. Seeing the angel and their leader, it was terrifying. Where did everybody else go? And where was the barbed wire. Sarel, Lucifer spotted her in the crowd and smiled. She smiled right back up at him, grateful that her Lord was still alive. She knew she shouldn’t have been worried about him, he could take care of himself, she was just here to guide him on his journey to take back Hell and make it better.

“Well, are you going to speak to them or should I do it?” Lucifer asked, smiling towards his captive. Raziel cringed before nodding. He took a deep breath before beginning to speak to the collected Fallen down below. He felt like such a fool, like a spectacle to behold, he was beginning to understand the corruption as it was.

“Attention, my fellow Fallen! It seems I have made a grave mistake. By grave mistake I mean a truly grave mistake. I have harmed our true king… I say that without hesitation… The true king of Hell. For decades we have been told that Lucifer, the first of us and God’s most beautiful and strongest angel, died to the hand of Jesus Christ… Well we were wrong to assume such things. We were wrong to be taught such things by Michael and to believe them. We have committed a terrible act against our King who has finally returned to claim his kingdom. I…” He stopped for a moment, unsure of how to phrase his farewell to his people, people whom he truly did care for.

“As payment for the sins of all of us collectively, I have offered myself to be sacrificed… Or, I was chosen by Lord Satan and followed as a willing lamb to the slaughter. I do apologize for the inconvenience for which I have called you. May you live on happily under the new reign that will fall upon this land. Long live the higher species of Hell! The Fallen!” Cheers erupted from the crowd, somber and saddened cheers, but cheers nonetheless.

Did they truly believe themselves to be the higher species? Higher than even demons/ Lucifer found this to be utterly ridiculous but nonetheless, there was nothing anyone could do about it. Drawing his wings and hardening them to be as sharp as a blade, he forced Raziel onto the ground. The wind blew past, bringing with it the smell of putrid acid rain. This place was a place of war and suffering, he would make it worth living in, but first he has to take out the corruption and the policies that he refuses to accept.

It was a quick cut, blood spurting everywhere, putrid and black tar which dribbled down the roof and onto the faces of those below. Lucifer allowed for the body to fall limp and both it, and the head, to roll along. Victims of gravity now unable to fight against it, the life for it was gone.

The body fell down to the ground below among the crowd, individuals screamed as they saw the carcass, he heard people sobbing into the crowd as they stared up at him. They accepted the new rule, but all the same they were not happy. He could not blame them for this was most likely one of the more traumatizing things they have seen in their life. To watch someone who has been governing over them for so long finally fall to death, death to spare all of them, it must be horrifying.

With a wave of his hand he opened the doors to the building, allowing for individuals the chance to enter and see their Lord should they choose, but all the same he wasn’t sure whether or not he wanted to leave this rooftop. There was a sense of regret in him -- not for any other reason than the fact that he just killed someone before his people. Not even in private. He let everyone see that he was worth dying. Everyone saw his demise… A public execution.

_ ‘Just like Tabris…’ _

He felt tears sting his eyes and fall in streams down his features. Thin lines were crafted in the blood and gore on his face. Why did that memory have to come. Soon he felt the arms of Sarel on his shoulders and he brushed those tears away. She guided him off the rooftop and through the mass of people. They made their way down and out the front door… Lucifer needed his wounds to be tended to before they continued their journey through Hell. Next was the Titans… Who they would find there she wasn’t quite sure. Last she checked Aotz was still in power but who knew now.

“Lord Satan?” Sarel began, her voice quiet and timid as they walked among the darkening streets. The angels giving them a wide berth again but this time also guiding them to a medical facility. “Yes, Sarel?” He responded, his voice held in a deadpan manner, it concerned her even more than she was feeling initially.

“Thank you… you’re doing the right thing.” He didn’t react, but something within her told her that he appreciated the words… That they sunk in for him and that he was thankful for them. In the end that’s all she could ask.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer regrets his choice not because of the fact that he killed someone, because in the end he cannot change Hell unless he gets rid of most of the old legislation and purge it, but because of the fact that literally an entire species got to watch their leader die. And not only that, but die to their new king, something he doubted was a good image for himself.


	72. Next Train Stop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer doubts his ability as a ruler.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next stop is the Titan's Kingdom, after that it will be the Demon's Wilderness -- from there we get out of the residential circles and into the other circles. Such as the punishment circles.

_ ‘Next stop, the Titan Kingdom.’ _

The voice over the intercom felt distant to him as the train started up. The Fallen crowded around the platform watching as the vehicle pulled away. The stitches and bandages that covered his body were itchy, he had an unbearable urge to scratch them. Sarel had already slapped his hands away from the wounds, telling him that if he scratched he’d bleed again. He should be happy. The fallen were so receptive after everything had set in. They accepted him as their leader, they recognized him for who he was, believing his strength made him a fit ruler for them. They were happy to see that he wore those scars without hesitation, that he stood tall and powerful… Not recognizing that he was just holding a mask over his face.

He watched as features passed by, as children and adults alike waved their hands in farewell. Almost as though they were mere humans watching a boat disembark from port. They smiled, laughed, grinned. They were so overwhelmingly happy and it showed. Lucifer didn’t know what to say -- how could they be so happy when he did something so awful… They apparently didn’t agree with him for some reason. They thought he was some wonderful person but he wasn’t… At least he didn’t believe so.

A hand gently took his own, he was shocked and looked over to see it was Sarel. As they went over the abyss she was there for him, holding his hand, and attempting to comfort him. “It’s okay Lord Satan… I know you must feel so terrible right now, but you’re doing your best, that’s all that matters.” He didn’t know if he could believe what she was saying but at the same time what reason would she have to lie about something like this. He allowed his hand to tighten around her’s, a gentle grasp, an attempt to find the slightest bit of comfort.

The train prattled on over the void, clicking and clacking, swaying side to side as it barreled onward to the next circle. The Titan’s Kingdom. He knew nothing about the Titans other than the fact that they were the predecessors to demons. They roamed the Earth and were rather violent creatures. They were powerful enough to terrify angels into staying well enough away. One titan in particular wiped out all the rest in her days and took over Terra -- that’s where Amon came from if he remembered correctly. His mother was a titan, the one known as Aotz.

He remembered placing the corpse of his baby in her arms, allowing her to lay to rest with the deformed fetus. Ryo’s heart ached as he thought about that… His child. The emotional wave that poured over him caused tears to begin to fall from his features in the darkened cabin. There was nobody else around so Sarel rose to her feet and carefully moved over to the ‘light’ button. The travel between circles is long and hefty, so sometimes travelers will sleep upon the train for which they use to commute. She carefully pressed the button to turn off the lights all around them, now only the gentle glow of the abyss below caused for the only light.

If someone came into the cabin, she didn’t want them to see the great demon lord crying there. Whatever he was thinking about must be painful, she could sense his suffering. As such he wanted to give him the ability to feel in solitude. In the medical unit he couldn’t cry, not really. In the motel that the fallen allowed them to hunker down for the night, he couldn’t cry. On the platform as they waited for the train he couldn’t cry. No matter what he couldn’t cry no matter how badly he wanted to.

Now as the train rolled on, she could see the orange stained tears begin to trail down his features, his body shaking and trembling as all those emotions began to come forth. It stung, everything stung him, like a million needles being thrust into his chest.

Sarel watched, she wanted to say something as he wept, but she had no idea what she could say. She heard his story and knew that he saw things in such a vastly different way, how was she to help him if she couldn’t even understand what he felt, what he saw when he closed his eyes, what his brain was thinking right now. She couldn’t understand the process his brain was going through so how could she possibly comfort him.

She hung onto the bar beside the seat the devil sat in, her body rocked with the ongoing motion of the cabin car. It bumped along, only making his tears pour heavier and heavier. Sarel wished she could apologize to him for bringing them into such an awful situation, but all the same she figured that it’d only be natural… Of course that’s the sort of thing they would have to face, the circles aren’t going to take it easy just because he defeated that one demon from the living bridge. Now that she looks back at it, it’s almost as though she had completely forgotten about that demon -- she couldn’t even remember his name… Is that what happens to those who are overthrown and killed down here?

They are forgotten? Does she remember anyone that wasn’t close to her that passed down here in Hell? No… she didn’t think so. She was certain that people who die just eventually get erased from existence. That seemed to be the only explanation she could think of, or perhaps bad memory… She looked to Lucifer as he hiccuped softly, he remembered so many deaths because those souls are still around. They are still the integral entity he’s known. That’s probably why people can't drudge up the memories otherwise.

She stood in silence for a while, watching him weep there quietly, curling up more and more with wings wrapping around him more and more. He needed this, he needed this outlet of emotion for once. It was obvious. He probably hadn’t cried since he was on Terra… The time flows very different down here in Hell so of course it’s probably not surprising to hear that it’s been quite a while since his last solid break down.

She approached tentatively, sitting down at the edge of the seat. She didn’t want to move too quickly, to remind him that she was there watching him. Sarel didn’t want him to suck all those emotions back within himself. Carefully, and with caution, she wrapped her arms around the seraphim, guiding him to rest his head against her chest. Allowing him to sob into her as though she was nothing more than a pillow. She wanted to ask what the cause of those tears were but she felt she already knew… 

When Lucifer came down here he was searching for Akira Fudo and Amon. That’s all he wanted. He didn’t care about taking his kingdom back really, but that is definitely an added bonus to the equation. No… what he really wanted was to get Amon and Akira back. They were the loves of his lives. He wanted to hold them, to be held by them, he wanted to love them both so dearly and fully again. Despite everything that happened, there was forgiveness, they forgave him at the end and that’s all he needed to tell him that he needed to pull them out of Hell.

Truly Sarel didn’t know that was the sole purpose he came down here, Sarel didn’t know that he was weeping for that and for the memory of his lost child. She also didn’t know that he was weeping for his fall as a king. Not in the sense that he was overthrown, but because of the fact that he can see his worldview has shifted so much from when he was younger that now his ruling practices are so different. He didn’t see himself as king, no, not at all, he still viewed himself as equal. Yet he still publicly executing those that have only wronged him slightly… The offense that he has seen was, given the circumstances, only punishable by exile.

_ ‘You idiot, where would you have exiled him!’ _

His mind argued back aggressively, much to Lucifer’s displeasure. He wasn’t sure where he just knew he wanted to. Who could blame him either?

To choose to exile instead of what he did would have saved him so much of this pain. To choose to let him go and run away with his tail between his legs… All the same though if it weren’t for the fact that he killed that man than they wouldn’t have been able to gain the same amount of reputation -- maybe even people wouldn’t have flocked to him like they did. They wouldn’t have accepted him like he needed to be… They were without rule now, he wondered if anarchy would spread while he wasn’t there… He believed not. The Fallen and the demons of the gateway were rather calm.

Two circles down only seven more to go… That’s what he reminded himself, that’s all he could remind himself.

He watched as the stagnant scenery failed to change around them. Remaining the same as they traveled on and on. As they rode down the tracks. Time flowed so slow and yet it all blurred together into one continuous picture. It was as if he couldn’t truly recognize how bored he was, or perhaps he was so emotionally dead that he couldn’t quite process everything as it was happening.

So smooth were the transitions that he didn’t realize that his tears had stopped, that his head was now pounding, and that his face ached. So smooth was the transition that he didn’t realize when his brain began to fog and his eyes began to close. So smooth was the transition that he didn’t realize that sleep was beginning to take his mentally exhausted mind from him, to pull him into a place to recover from the mental stress of crying.

“Lord Satan, we have arrived.” Sarel spoke as she gently shook him. He blinked a few times, lifting his head. It felt heavy on his shoulders like he was trying to pick up a bowling ball. The train slowly began to pull into the station as he blinked away exhaustion, the light from the train cabin flickered to life, momentarily blinding him. He blinked the bright blindness away and tried to come back to reality.

Looking out the window he saw a vast stone platform spreading out into the darkness. Nobody was there, not a soul was going to disembark or come onto the train. It was strange… Or at least that’s what he believed. It was so bizarre to him. He watched Sarel rise to her feet. “The Titans don’t like riding on trains, they like their circle and don’t really like to leave.” She explained, it was brief but it was enough to give Lucifer a clear idea of what to expect when they stepped off the train.

He rose from his own seat and followed after her, happy to be stepping out onto the platform and happy to be moving as far away from the Fallen City as possible.

Welcome to the Titan’s Kingdom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a short chapter everyone -- I wasn't sure what else to add, but I wanted to put a break chapter here to kind of give a separation between the City of the Fallen and the Titan's Kingdom.


	73. Titan's Kingdom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer goes to the Titan's Kingdom in search of the leader of said circle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who may have forgotten, Aotz, who still rules over the Titan's Kingdom, was Amon's mother. A powerful Titan for which he killed on accident in his childhood and is the reason he was imprisoned in the moon. She still loves him dearly.

“So  _ you _ are my son’s mate?”

Lucifer was taken aback by the titan’s sudden words, by her sudden movement as she rose to her feet and began to approach them. Her eyes gleaming in the torch light of the castle, her claws gripping the stone beneath her as she moved forward. She was an intimidating figure, but not one that Lucifer was genuinely scared of. If this was the woman that was taken down by Amon during his infancy, then surely the decision of who was stronger was not in the dark. “I suppose that you are Amon’s mother, the great Aotz?” Lucifer asked softly, blue eyes staring up at her respectfully. She laughed, a beautiful but loud laugh that almost made him jump.

“Great? I do not know about that. But indeed, I am Aotz. The former queen of Terra and now the leader of the Titan’s Kingdom. I assume that you, the great Demon Lord, are here to reclaim your throne? The throne that is rightfully yours?” She asked him, her clawed hand picking a rock out of his messy locks and flicking it away, almost like a mother ought to do. “Th-That is indeed what I’m here for. How did you know? How did you even know I was Amon’s mate?”

Sarel looked over to Lucifer, a little shocked by his sudden questioning behavior. He seemed to know exactly what she was thinking. “Well that’s a simple question to answer.” Aotz began, snapping their attention back to her. “I’ve watched you this whole time, like a guardian angel. Ever since I passed I watched the world waiting for someone to free my son. The person that would, I was certain would become the new ruler of Terra. An individual with power I thought, but you are much different.” Lucifer tilted his head, undoubtedly confused by her words, she continued.

“You led in love and passion, in confidence and kindness, you knew that you needed a community built not of greed or selfishness, but instead of logic and care. Some may judge this type of rule, saying you are too soft, but it gets the job done does it not? And when the job is not done, then you aren’t afraid to use the force you need to use are you?” The angel shook his head, of course he wasn’t scared to use force, that’s what he’s been doing this whole time, even if he felt that he might have been doing it all wrong from the very start… Acting out of grief and pain instead of logic.

“I suppose I was correct, than?” She asked after a long pause, looking at the two of them as they stood, straight back and respectfully. “Partly, lady Aotz.” Sarel began. “You see, I’m actually looking for Amon and Akira, I want… I want to bring them back.” Ryo finished, fidgeting with his hands as he stood within the palace walls. He felt sheepish and shy saying it now, as though it was some forsaken sin that he was committing to reincarnate someone from the dead… But it was all he could think to do.

“Bring them back?” Aotz repeated. “To life, I mean. Bring them back to life so I can make a utopia on Terra.” The emotions that cycled on her features, they made him doubt his goal and objective. They went from confusion, to disappointment, to rage, to calm, to understanding, and then finally landing on joy. It was almost as if she had her own train of thought that followed the track quickly and loyally. Chugging along on a predetermined path, and she was just acting it all out.

“I see… well you may be closer to your goal than you care to imagine.” She gestured for them to follow her, to which they did loyally. She led them deeper into the castle, her feet making ugly scraping sounds as her claws gripped the stone to aid her in pushing forward. She looks so much like her son, that it almost baffled Ryo. Other than her more feminine build, there really wasn’t much different between the two of them.

“You know,” Aotz began again, her words holding a completely different tone as they walked throughout the castle. Her words carrying far and echoing back to them. “I truly must thank you Lucifer, you have helped me more than you understand.” The blond tilted his head, Sarel made eye contact with him before she inquired to the titan they followed closely behind. “How so?” She asked gently, her hands folded before her politely as they followed. “Well for one, taking care of Terra while I was gone and bringing in some form of rule to the unruly, that’s one thing.”

She looked over her shoulder at them before continuing. “Also I must thank you, Lucifer, for saving my son from his wrongful prison. He didn’t realize what he had done. He didn’t realize one bit. But it happens and as such he was punished for it. He didn’t deserve what came to him, so I am grateful that you freed him.” Aotz told him gently, continuing to walk onward. “Well it was in my goal. He was a demon trapped, I wanted him to join with the rest of his kind. That’s what he deserved, even if he did something awful. He was harmless. He’s a smart demon, powerful, strong, but not evil in any regard. He’s…” Lucifer trailed off, his mind running amok.

He realized now that just saying anything about Amon would trigger that domino effect, he couldn’t get the demon out of his head anymore, his mate was just filling every crevice of his mind. He missed him, he missed his voice, his embrace, his love. Everything about him was something he missed. He missed how the demon ran his fingers through his long blond hair. He missed how the demon would curl around him and keep him warm. He missed his warm body and his passionate emotions, he felt engulfed in flames everytime he was around him… And yet it never burned. It only felt like perfect warmth. He loved him more than anything… His human counterpart loved Akira, but his angel self couldn’t get over the demon champion Amon.

“You still love him dearly I see… You two would have made wonderful parents.” Aotz began again, stealing Lucifer’s attention again. “In fact, if I remember correctly you almost were.” How did she know that? Was that something that she saw? “You… know about Lucius?” They came to a door to which Aotz stopped and turned towards him. He watched her eyes settle on Sarel, focus on her for a second, before going to him. “Of course I know about him, did you not bury me with the miscarried child? If not for those wretched angels, who had no knowledge of your pregnancy, that child would have been quite the remarkable individual…”

Silence fell among them, Lucifer felt his eyes stinging and tears begin to fall, much to Sarel’s surprise. The hell-spawn demon watched as she saw those tears fall from his eyes. “You… cared about the child, Lord Satan?” She inquired softly, her voice quiet and faltering. It was almost as though she was struck in the gut. Ryo didn’t notice how pale she became, he didn’t notice how in the dusty air she looked absolutely ashen. However Aotz picked up on it rather quickly.

“You look pale, Sarel. Is something the matter?” They made eye contact and, for a moment, Ryo saw something in between them that showed that they knew something he didn’t. However this was Hell, and he also knew that things would be revealed with time. He bit his tongue, despite the fact that he was now growing suspicious of his companion. “I-I’m sure she’s just… Getting emotional over it like I am.” He sniffled and brushed his tears away, wishing to end the awkwardness.

“I mean, is it common to see your travel companion fall to tears so swiftly? I really need to get over it. Maybe it’s that time of the month you know?” He laughed, trying to make light of the situation, to no avail. The jokes fell flat, his attempts to diffuse the situation ending in nothing but failure. What he did succeed on was taking the spotlight from Sarel.

“Maybe so… Regardless, we should step inside the chamber. There is something you need to see, Lucifer.” On that note Aotz turned around and placed her clawed hands upon the door, pressing forward it opened with a heavy and screeching creak. The doors continued to swing until they slammed up against the walls within the room.

It was dark inside, but not impossible to see. Clocks lined the walls and ticked onward. They all looked different, some were made of glass, some stone, some metal, some wood, some combination, so on so forth. If the clock ever existed in the universe, it was most likely embodied in some way within this expanding tower. It stretched up beyond his vision, but down… it did not stretch too far it seemed. There was a definite bottom but not a definite top. Lucifer approached the railing of the landing and found himself in shock at what he saw on the floor at the bottom. 

“Amon! Akira!” He screamed, throwing himself over the railing. He didn’t care about the dangers, he just wanted to be with them again. He spread his wings all around him, flapping them once or twice, lowering himself gently to the ground beside them. He felt flowers brush up against his toes, gently waving in the wind that the gentle ticking created. How overjoyed he was to see their faces even if they could not see his own. Trapped in eternal sleep undoubtedly with no way to get out.

“They are trapped in sleep for their souls are yours for the taking, Lucifer. I have kept them preserved in their fresh state for you. The more of Hell they experience, the harder it will be to bring them back to Terra. Amon, who is a demon as you are aware, will be easier to bring back -- but Akira, who has the soul of a puny human and angel, will take more.” Angel? He looked up to Aotz in confusion, his blue eyes staring up at her. She saw that confusion and tilted her head in response. “What is it, dear? Something has you confused I assume?”

“Angel? Akira isn’t any part angel!” Ryo pointed out, his confusion and panic becoming more noticeable. Why would anyone say that Akira has partly an angelic soul -- he has never been touched by Heaven, not unless it was him. Right? “Are you not aware? Did those cruel angels not tell you?” She asked. “Tell me what?” Lucifer lowered himself to the ground, running his fingers through Akira’s hair while keeping eye contact with Aotz. “That they used Tabris’ soul to create Akira.”

Sarel grimaced as she saw the angel stop, his face fell into a look of pure shock. “No… That’s not true. Akira is not Tabris!” He shouted, rising to his feet suddenly before looking over to the younger. He wasn’t right? “You’re right, he’s not Tabris, but at the same time, he is. He does not have Tabris’ memories, but you have to admit that they are remarkably similar, are they not?” He stood there for a moment, staring down at the younger. It was all starting to make sense.

_ “It’s okay… You don’t have to cry… I’m here.” _

_ “Do you have a name?” _

_ “How about… Ryo? That’s a pretty name.” _

Tears collected for the third time in the past day. How could this have happened. This time the tears were more filled with rage. How dare they! How dare they do this to him! “Are you telling me that it was all a lie! That Akira only loved me because he was Tabris!?” He shouted up to her, frowning sharply as his face grew red with anger and despair. “That is Not what I’m saying at all! No, Akira Fudo was a clean slate. He has no memory of you -- the only thing he kept from that previous life would be his personality, that is all. Nothing else has changed. He loves you for you, not because of your relationship to him from the past. At least, not that I know.” Aotz tried to explain, throwing herself over the railing to meet him at the bottom, her tail swishing around her as she landed upon the ground.

Sarel remained where she was on the landing, watching them speak down there far below. She was anxious as she watched, what were they saying? What were they doing? What were they thinking? She didn’t like it one bit. “Than why did they use his soul? Why did they use that?” Lucifer inquired, gesturing to the human that lay in the arms of the demon whom was curled up tightly around him. It was almost as though the beast was protecting him… 

“Because it was easier I would assume. You already like that personality, you already are fond of that person -- why not be gifted something you are already fond of. Not to mention the type of person you needed when you were at your lowest as a human.” She explained to him simply, shrugging as she spoke. It was almost as though it was natural for her. “Why are you taking this so easily?” Lucifer asked her, his blue eyes sharp and casting untrusting glances to her. She noticed them and acted accordingly, as though she didn’t care, for in the end she knew he had no reason to actually be aggressive to her -- not yet at least. She had no fears of him.

“Well because it’s already happened to your son.” She answered simply with a smirk on her features. “My son? Lucius? It’s happened to Lucius?” A grin spread across Aotz’s face, sharp teeth showing themselves. She seemed so mischievous now, a far cry from her calm and mature aura for which she showed earlier. It faded after a moment, falling to be that same energy she had before.

“You’ll find out soon enough what I mean, but you may be seeing that son of yours very shortly. But that’s none of my business… You want to conquer my circle right? And you want Amon and Akira back.” She moved to one of the clocks on the wall and shattered it before she could get an answer. The glass sprayed everywhere and she didn’t seem to mind how it cut into her.

Reaching into the mechanism she withdrew a choker with a clear cross made of crystal attached. She held it over the forms of Amon and Akira, they began to evaporate, turning into nothing but light and being absorbed into the choker’s gem. The clear color faded, changing into, instead, a shifting smoke. It changed and moved within, this was a soul crystal… He had only heard myths of them… They were too powerful for angels to have so he thought they were all destroyed. A lie apparently. The titans probably have all the knowledge they need to make them once again.

He clipped the choker on, it felt comforting to have, remembering the choker he used to wear in one of his time loops. It was relaxing in a way, a soothing comfort in a world that he had to fight through. “If that stone breaks do not fret -- the souls will come back here, we have more than enough soul stones so really don’t cry about it. When you are ready to bring them back… well, you’ll know how. That should also be your key to telling folks that you’ve conquered this circle. After all, I am the only one in all of Hell that knows how to make those crystals and how to trap souls within them.”

She grinned at him, kicking the glass away from him, exposing the floor where Amon and Akira used to be laying upon. The flowers which were beneath their bodies were rotten and corroded. Death had taken them, death, most likely, from the spirits having been put there. He wondered if the flowers were what was preserving their sleep, the smell of them made him drowsy that’s for sure.

“Thank you lady Aotz.” Lucifer spoke, spreading his wings again, she did the same. The two bounded back up to the landing and managed to secure their place beside Sarel, who was more confused than anything. She looked from Lucifer to Aotz and back again. She caught not a bit of their conversation. “Of course, Lucifer, anything for the rightful ruler of Hell. It is great to have you here.”

Aotz and Lucifer exchanged a knowledgeable glance, one that spoke that Lucifer would not tell a soul about what was spoken to him, as she guided her guests back out into the Titan’s Kingdom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aotz shares a lot of important information with Lucifer, information that it's imperative he keeps to himself. But it may cause a rift between him and his companion that he does.


	74. Wilted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The relationship between Ryo and Sarel begins to face serious trials.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sarel is hiding something, what that is it's unclear, but Lucifer has a sneaking suspicion of what it could be.

The titans as they passed them seemed to show them respect, they never bothered them, never grabbed them by the arms -- they saw that choker for which Lucifer adorned and allowed them to pass. Nothing was spoken between the angel and the hell-spawn demon. Sarel was quiet, she had nothing to say. Eyes downcast as she thought about what could have possibly been shared with the person beside her. What did Aotz tell him? She knew about the Tabris part, something which alarmed her partly, but had no knowledge on what else was shared beyond that point.

_ ‘Why does he care about that human and demon anyways? Wouldn’t the demons around us be a much better thing to worry about? He should be focusing on the disarray of Hell, not on his love interests.’ _

Those were the thoughts running through her head, she clenched her fists as she walked. She wanted to strike him. Wanted to attack him. A rage boiled up within her. Memories that she hated seeing, nightmares that swirled around her feet. He should be working to overthrow Beelzebub -- not saving his potential love! What the hell was wrong with him! He was not fit to be king!

Lucifer spun around and shielded himself with his wings, sparing himself from her blow. He glared at her from between feathers, saw her enraged face from beyond pure white wings, hardened to be as tough as steel. Beyond those eyes he saw fear, there was a sense of dread there. The two retreated from each other, giving them distance, a space between them. “What the hell do you think you’re doing!?” Lucifer asked her, straightening himself with a frown on his expression. “You’re selfish! How dare you prioritize those _ boys _ over the entirety of Hell!”

“Hell was never, and never will be, my main concern! Demons can come to Earth for Utopia if they so choose. I did not come down here with the intention of being a hero. I’m only fixing Hell because it’s my way. This place can rot for all I care.” His words were sharp, but truthful. He never gave much of a damn about this place. If demons wanted a utopia, they could get it by coming to Terra. They could and they would be accepted if they did. But it just so happened that the well-being of Hell is the only way he could get all the pieces he needed to bring Akira back… If that. He didn’t know how to make a pocket universe, the information was easy to obtain within the Palace of Hell however.

“So what? Are you just going to leave then!? Abandon us!?” She shouted to him, gritting her fanged teeth all the while. The onlookers around them were beginning to crowd, curious as to the conflict that was unraveling before them. “No, of course I’m not going to do that! Beelzebub has something I need! Saving this place is on my agenda now, there’s nothing I can do about that. I was just saying it’s not on my main to-do list is all! I’m not going to abandon this place… Besides, I'm going to have to fix it eventually most likely… So I might as well do it while I’m here.”

It was a coping mechanism to speak so dismissively about such a task, he didn’t want to up-play it because to him it didn’t matter as much. He was just doing what he needed to do. But at the same time it was complicated to explain. His main goal was to save Amon and Akira, but eventually he knows that this world down here would need saving to… It just so happened the two tasks go hand in hand.

“So you are only helping us because it’s convenient for you?” Sarel inquired, her brow creasing and her face being locked in a solid frown. “You act like I’m the worst person in the world for doing something like that. It’s getting done, regardless of priority isn’t that all that should matter?”

She frowned harder and lunged towards him, Ryo ducked out of the way quickly, he didn’t want to fight… he didn’t think she did either. She wasn’t putting her all into it, and he knew it. “You don’t belong as King of this place!” She screeched towards him. “Good because I don’t want to be king!” He argued back, causing silence to fall all around them. The devil and the demon, they locked eyes, staring at each other. Her expression was laced with shock… This whole time she firmly believed that he was trying to regain the throne… Why was he now saying that he didn’t care about that?

“You don’t want to be king?” She asked again, wondering if maybe she had misheard what he said. That had to be the case right? He had to be lying to her. “Of course I don’t want to be king! My goal is to make a Utopia on Terra. I didn’t fall for this place, Hell isn’t my home. It was gifted to me. If I could give up rule to someone who would care for it and take it off my hands while not being a piece of shit and not stealing my identity, than I would most certainly follow through with that. I didn’t even know this place existed until I came down here if I’m being quite honest, I thought it was another fraction of the religious bullshit the angels told humanity.”

Ryo crossed his arms over his chest, his nose wrinkling as his eyebrows furrowed. He looked purely agitated on this whole front. Something that was to be expected of something like this. “Lord Satan?” Sarel began again, suddenly this time, inquiry evident in her tone. The blond focused his attention on her. “What is it?” He asked, leaning back onto his heels, his wings spreading out as though he was ready to take to the sky. He didn’t enjoy flying through Hell, he always felt like there was something in the sky ready to rip his wings off or attack him.

“What did Lady Aotz tell you? Why do you keep secrets from me? Aren’t we supposed to be a team, aren’t we supposed to save Hell together?”

“I never said anything about us being a team… But if you must know I’m not keeping secrets from you. At least I’m not keeping meaningful secrets from you. The things which she told me have little to do with you, or Hell, or really anything. They’re my secrets, secrets of my history and of my life beyond Hell. They are none of your concern.” Lucifer explained, stepping forward a bit, the situation had calmed down, neither of them were going to attack the other and the crowd seemed to be mostly moving on.

The cobblestone roads, the medieval like structures all around them, everything reverberated days of old… Ryo wondered why this was the architecture for which the Titans had picked. Stone makes sense, but why the Medieval Flare? Did they even intend for something like this? He doubted it. “Are we not a team then, Lord Satan?” Sarel asked, her head hung low, long hair falling into her face as she masked the pain that was appearing there. Ryo wondered if it was false.

“A team would go on many adventures together. A team wouldn’t consist of two which seem to be incapable of trusting each other. You’re my guide through this place, and you know it. You’re helping me reach my goal, this is true, but at the same time you attacked me. Proof that we are no team. We are simply mutually beneficial temporary companions.” When did his tone grow so sharp, when did he become so crass with her? Was it not her that acted worried when he was taken by the fallen? Was it not her who comforted him when he wept on the train?

“Your child, you cried for him earlier, the one you lost.” Sarel began once more, her eyes looking up, locking upon him. She still had no idea what was said about him, she didn’t know what Ryo knew and what he didn’t, but she felt the need to ask this question. “Are you going to try and bring him back to life too?” There was a heavy, raw silence. Both parties feeling as though there was a knife being plunged into their hearts.

“I… I’m not sure… I would like to… I miss my baby immensely. I loved him more than anything in my life, even if it was an accident that I got pregnant to begin with. I want to give him a chance at a happy life if I can. But I don’t know how possible that will be. If I’m able to, I will. If I’m unable to than… Well I have to hope that somewhere he is at peace and able to be happy in a new body.” Lucifer tried to force a smile, but the wound was still fresh, and still hurting. Never would he be able to truly move on from the miscarriage. He declared war because of the loss of Lucius. Nothing would be able to change that.

“What would you do if you were able to bring him back? How would you treat him?” Sarel asked, much to Lucifer’s surprise. Why was she curious? “I wouldn’t hesitate… Sadly I must say if I had to choose between my son and my love, I would probably choose my son. A mother never abandons their child. But I don’t think I’ll be able to. As much as that thought really does make me happy.” He smiled at her, letting himself fall quiet before turning on his heel and walking towards the train station.

“Now, if you’re willing to avoid any more conflict, I’m still willing to travel with you. Let’s get off the topic of children and let’s start moving on. What’s next?” Lucifer asked her, walking onward towards the rushing trains. He wondered where their partnership would lead. He was suspicious of her, but no use in being suspicious and cutting ties. He wanted to get to the bottom of her mysterious actions and figure out what caused her to act out. What secret could she be hiding that was so big as to lead to such an outburst. He had a sneaking suspicion he knew what it was vaguely.

“That would be the Demon’s Wilderness.” She answered, following close behind him and leaving the scene that they had created behind them -- her head no longer hung, her demeanor stronger and more cold. Something he picked up quickly. “Excellent! I miss my children, it’ll be a relief to see them again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter this go round because there just wasn't a lot of ground to cover between leaving Aotz and getting to the train.


	75. Mourning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryo comes to terms with his grief and finally begins to move past everything in the hopes of making a better world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I can't believe I was absent for a whole month -- I apologize for that everyone, life has just been busy. Also I apologize for how terrible the past handful of chapters have been. I am working on quality control. I will be going back and rewriting this arc once it's done. Updates on that when it happens. But thank you all for reading regardless.

Rain… 

He could hear it patting along his window pane… He didn’t like the sound, but at the same time he didn’t want it to stop. He let his finger glide over his glass of whisky, it made a gentle whooshing sound. A hollow ring that he wasn’t sure how to respond to other than to listen. A boom of thunder, a flash of lightning… The lights flickered out, he waited for them to turn back on but they never did. 

Ryo sighed, he didn’t care that it was dark. The red light from the sky outside poured in faintly… An apocalypse where the sky turned red? Where has he heard that before? He took his glass of whisky and chugged it down. He missed the ability to get drunk off of human alcohol, it was long lost to him now. Now that the facade and placebo was over. He poured another glass regardless.

He picked it up with the tips of his fingers and rose to his feet, pacing around his penthouse… As he passed from the living room to the dining room and back again, he got a good look at the empty place he now lived in. Windows with tattered curtains. Mirrors with sheets hanging over their faces. Furniture with cracks and paint peeling. How long has this apocalypse been going on for? How long has he been sitting in his quiet and desolate penthouse without a soul to be seen. 

He approached the window. It didn’t register to him as strange that the city he used to know, the city he was well aware that he lived in, was gone. It didn’t register to him that the buildings were replaced with large expanses of fields. It didn’t register to him that the cross like light in the distance, shimmering on despite the heavy rain and fog, wasn’t meant to be there. It didn’t register to him that the grass was white and that the people outside were being tortured by something he didn’t recognize… not demons… something else entirely. None of it seemed at all bizarre to him.

One dainty hand grabbed hold of the curtains and pulled them before the windows, shielding himself from the prying eyes of the outside. The light game in through the small holes in the fabric, but other than the gentle scattering of circles, nothing shone beyond it. Ryo poured himself another glass of whisky.

He reached into his pocket, a tiny matchbook was found there. Slipping into the kitchen he placed his drink down on the island and began to light the candles all around the room illuminating his home in the warm orange hue of fire.  _ ‘Just like the old days…’ _ He thought to himself as he took yet another sip of his drink. It was poison to the body, but a poison he craved so deeply.

_ ‘Dear Satan, _

_ Do not open the doors… Do not open the windows… the air outside is not safe to breathe… Please do not do anything stupid until I return. _

_ -Jenny.’ _

It had to have been at least a year since he’s seen her. A glance to the clock face, smashed in and damaged. One hand hanging limply from the face, the other twisted and bent at mysterious angles. “Like my father’s smashed limbs…” Ryo mused out loud.  _ ‘Not smashed limbs you fool!’ _ A voice argued with him, snatching his attention. The blond whirred around, only to see not a soul there.

That had to be in his head right? But it sounded so real. It sounded so out there… Not of his own accord. Was his father not hit by a truck? Was he not run over?

_ ‘No of course he wasn’t! You lit him on fire! Don’t you remember!?’ _

He grabbed his head, falling forward a bit… How could he have forgotten that?

Of course his father died by burning to death. How else would they have… He stopped. Why did his father burn to death? He turned to the note and snatched it off of the fridge. He studied it closer, only to find that the lettering wasn’t in English. This was in the angel’s script-- 

“Ryo-chan!?”

Akira’s voice, he looked to the source, but nobody was there. Turning back, the paper that was once in his hand was now back on the fridge. It’s words in English now, gone were the complex swirl of the angel’s hand. Was it ever there to begin with?

“Akira!?” Ryo shouted out, but got no response. He began to move about the kitchen, searching. His fingers grazed over the marble counter top, it felt cold under his digits. He slipped around the corner and into the dining room. Nobody was here, and yet the chairs were all rearranged. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck begin to tingle as he set his now empty wine glass down.

_ ‘But weren’t you drinking whisky before?’ _

He looked back to it, shocked to find that it wasn’t a wine glass nor a whisky glass, but instead a shot glass with some vodka still in it.

_ ‘But didn’t you drink it all?’ _

That voice kept coming back, he turned and turned to see nobody there and yet when the glass came back into his vision… nothing was there. What was happening? “Ryo-chan!” The voice came again, snapping him out of his stupor. He looked towards the doorway, hoping to see a familiar figure, only to see yet another change. Now all the chairs were pushed in, not pulled out haphazardly like they were a moment before.

He began to move forward, feeling fluid slosh and spill onto his hand, he looked over and was surprised to see a full glass of whisky in his hand again.

Panic began to rise in his throat. He was going mad! Throwing the glass into the wall he watched it shatter. A resounding crack as a cloth fell from the mirror face. Glass poured forward… That mirror wasn’t there when he threw the glass and yet here he was, standing before his own reflection. But not just his reflection.

He clamored over the table, nearing the shattered reflection of himself, broken as he felt he was. There was a figure standing over his shoulder.

“Akira…”

Tears filled his eyes as he reached out to the pieces. It hurt… Why did it hurt so much. He didn’t feel the cut on his hand which was created when it made contact with the glass. The blood oozed and streamed over the mirror in thin lines. It marred Akira’s large figure in the reflection.

Big doe eyes stared at him, there was fear and sorrow in them. He looked so hurt, like he had been through so much. The blood began to spread like a spider web through the cracks, he watched it as it began to stain his own face.

Drip… 

He looked up to see that something red was dripping from the ceiling and onto his face. Ryo watched the red droplets grow thick and heavy before falling and hitting his cheeks, as they were meant to do. Looking back to the mirror… 

Akira was gone.

He felt sobs build up in his chest, choking them out in a twisted sense of mourning. He had yet to truly mourn his lost loves. Withdrawing his hand he saw it was long since smothered with blood. The flow of the red fluid from the ceiling continued.

_ ‘But isn’t your blood black?’ _

He didn’t listen. Instead just proceeded to lick his digits.

The iron tasted bitter on his tongue. A new drug… No, not a drug, because he didn’t want this. It was a punishment. When he was satisfied, he looked back to the mirror. The drip from the ceiling had stopped but also all the pieces that once clung to the mirror have since fallen free. He picked up the dusted sheet and hung it over the mirror face before taking up one of the glass shards.

It was glass, he knew it was glass, but it reflected nothing more. It was just a black surface, his face wasn’t even visible in it.  _ ‘Not even the mirror wants to see you…’ _ That voice came again. He wished for it to shut up, it wasn’t him, yet somewhere inside of him he knew that was also a lie. Who else would it be?

He let the glass fall to the floor and shatter in a beautiful display, before walking away. Ryo ignored the glass of whisky on the table, letting it just sit there to change as it so chose. Passing through the doorway, he slipped into the living room, finally understanding just how much of a shell he had become.

He cast his eyes to the front door, a door that was once by the stairs that was long since gone. Where had it gone… he didn’t know. He didn’t care. Approaching the windows of his penthouse, he peered out once again to see nothing but fog, rain, and thunder. He reached for the doorknob of the backdoor, only to find it no longer was there. He was effectively trapped inside of his home.

He passed through the room again, to see that once more things had changed. The pictures were different now, the furniture was shifted, there were so many empty bottles and beer cans laying all about. His foot touched the stair when he heard a click and light filled the room. “What? The power was off I thought…” He mused out loud as his gaze moved to the now furniture-less living room. The light of the television was almost blinding.

_ “Good afternoon everyone. We have a special guest here today.”  _

Immediately Ryo knew what this was as he watched, tears flowing through his eyes as his still bleeding hand covered his mouth.

_ “Mr Ryo Asuka, the lead in Demon research. I understand that you have something very important to tell us.” _

He shook his head rapidly as the digital version of himself spoke again. Spoke the words he regretted most even if he didn’t say them.

_ “Yes I do actually…” _

Ryo ran towards the television, he couldn’t hear it again.

_ “I’m afraid what I have to say isn’t pleasant. I must tell you about another even more horrible aspect of demon kind… and I fear it may cause everyone further concern and anxiety. But it’s the truth.” _

The candles all around the first floor all went out, sealing him in the darkness that only the television stopped from engulfing him.

_ “The truth must be told if humanity is to survive this war. They must learn everything they can about their enemy, the demons.” _

“Please stop! That’s not me!” Ryo shouted to nobody in particular as he tripped over his own two feet in a rush to get to the television.

_ “My father was an archaeologist. A random discovery one day led him to the rabbit hole that would begin his study of demons. This was before demon kind had shown their true evil selves to the world, so when my father found out about it, they hunted him in an attempt to silence him.” _

His head hit the floor as he fell, pain erupted in him, but he didn’t care. He had to stop the broadcast.

_ “Once my father had discovered that demons truly did exist, they used their foul powers to eliminate him. I say ‘eliminate’ but I do not mean that they killed my father. No, what they killed was his mind. They used this power that all demons have… The power to merge with humans, and they possessed my father’s body! Demons have the power to merge with any human at any time, in fact. My father looked like himself, but it was not really him. It was just a demon wearing my father’s skin.” _

He reached the wires and began to shuffle around them, his arms were too weak, he couldn’t break them or separate them.

_ “The demon that had taken over my father ordered me to collect my friends. At that time I was unaware. I didn’t know my father had been possessed, so I did as he told me… I invited my friend Akira Fudo, along with many others, to the Asuka Mansion. But what awaited us there was a horde of demons my ‘father’ had summoned, they tried to possess my friends at that moment.” _

He fiddled around his pockets in search of a knife, he found it, but only after he cut his hand more.

_ “Why do demons possess humans?” _

He began to slice and dice the wires with tears pouring forth from his eyes, he hated this! He hated it!

_ “They want to make that human’s knowledge their own. You have seen what they truly look like, correct? Animal and plant indiscriminately mashed together. That is proof of their powers-- they merge with other beings and make those beings’ abilities their own.” _

The wires broke but nothing came of it, the television still continued. Panic and fear filled him as the broadcast continued.

_ “I was in shock. All I could do was stare and keep my camera rolling. And what I recorded was my friends, one after another, getting possessed and becoming demons themselves.” _

“Please Jenny… Please stop…” He whispered as he tried to find some means of destroying the television.

_ “You viewers, you who are still fully human, for the time being, are not safe. There is no telling when a demon may attempt to possess you. They can appear out of nowhere and take you at any time. Here is the film that I recorded that day. Watch it and bear witness as my best friend Akira Fudo is possessed by a demon.” _

The film began to play on the television and for the first time he fully saw what he showed the world… His heart broke seeing Akira again on that screen. He broke internally as he found himself growing sicker and sicker.

_ “The demon that took the form of my best friend, Akira Fudo, is still hiding in human society. But, it’s not just him. The person seated next to you might truly be a demon. Your father, your mother, your siblings, your children, even your best friend, any of them could be a demon in disguise.” _

He shook his head as he jumped to his feet, trying to push the television off it’s stand, he needed it to stop under any means necessary.

_ “Think about it, think very hard! Are the people around you really who they seem!?” _

He pushed and pushed on the technology.

_ “Have they changed at all in the recent past!?” _

“Stop please!” Ryo begged as he pushed with all his might.

_ “You must be careful, demons are expert liars!”  _

He felt his feet burn through his socks as the carpet burned his flesh from friction.

_ “They are also clever actors, they can become perfect copies of their victims!” _

It’s not like that! His brain knew this and reeled.

_ “Take a close look at the people around you!” _

Lightning flashed and thunder boomed all around him.

_ “Look hard, and find the demons hiding in your midst.” _

He felt the television begin to move but only a little bit.

_ “If you wait for it to show itself, if you delay taking action until it bares its fangs and attacks you, it is too late.”  _

He let out a scream as he began to put all his energy into it.

_ “Before that happens, you must kill them with your own hands.”  _

The television fell off its pedestal. 

_ “The fate of humanity is in your hands…” _

A loud crack as the machine broke, darkness surrounded him and the blond fell to the ground. It didn’t take long before he screamed into the darkness. Bellowing out apologies and painful mourning pleas. He felt such terrible guilt, and in his mind he deserved it. How many times had he done things so horrible.

Nothing but the red light filtered in from the outside, but he didn’t want to see it as he slumped into a ball.

_“Satan…”_

His head didn’t rise up, he didn’t want to look and be wrong. He just continued to sob and cry and wail where he was. Gentle hands placed themselves on his shoulder, causing the fallen angel to suddenly raise his head to face the entity head on. He was surprised to see… 

“Amon…”

The demon sat there beside him, he shifted a bit, before taking the younger into his arms. He pulled him close, encasing him in his warmth. It was so long ago that they mated and Amon would do anything to keep his love safe and sound.

“Satan… You’re crying…” He whispered to him, nuzzling Lucifer’s cheek. Despite the fact that the individual he was holding seemed to be nothing more than a human, he didn’t care. This was still his Satan. “What’s wrong, love?” He inquired gently, beginning to lick away those tears just like he did back then.

“Amon! I’ve made terrible mistakes! I’ve hurt you and I’ve hurt Akira! Now I can’t stop thinking about it! Every time I go to sleep, every time I close my eyes, every time I’m alone it just keeps coming back to my mind! All the trauma, all the pain, I’ve been through so much and yet when it comes down to it the only thing I did when you and Akira needed me was throw my pain onto you…”

Amon listened quietly, yellow eyes glowing in the darkness. He sighed before squeezing Ryo gently. “My dear Satan, you’ve been through enough. Yes you’ve made mistakes, but you’re atoning for them in your own way. Whatever you’ve done to me I’ve long since forgiven, and I’m sure the same stands for you. I am sure Akira feels the same after having learned everything.”

Silence, the only sound being Ryo’s sniffling. “B-But… How do you know? How do you know he’ll forgive me?” Amon smiled, those sharp teeth normally would be menacing but now they seemed comforting. He let the blond curl up against his chest, nice and tight. “Because I love him too… I lived with him, sharing a body, for so long… I care about him deeply… He loves you too much to hate you. I never thought that I’d be growing so attached to a human, but I suppose you were surprised too… But after seeing his memories, and how much he cared for life, just like you do, I couldn’t help it.”

Amon kissed Ryo on the forehead, squeezing him tightly. “I trust you to bring us back. When you do let’s make our own Eden. Me, you, and Akira. Where we can start again with the demons at our side once more. Thank you… for the apology… I’m sure Akira is very thankful for it too.”

A flicker of lightning, a boom of thunder, and then darkness.

The cross in the sky went out and the cup of whisky disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is in fact a nightmare sequence. It is meant to be surreal and make very little sense. Although I can say that yes Amon is actually apart of it and yes Akira is also apart of it. They are able to manifest in Ryo's dreams due to the necklace that Lucifer wears now. They can't have physical forms, but they do have spiritual ones.


End file.
